Bringing Balance
by ZimmMaster
Summary: Naruto is sick of the glares, the hatred and the neglect; sick of pandering to the village with a mask of happiness. Seeing this, Kyuubi decides to take advantage and mold a weapon. From the ashes of innocence, a new Naruto will rise. One that is dark, one that is ruthless and one that will never stop. A dark redemption fic. Dark!witheventualGrey!Naruto Older!Naruto Naruto/FemHaku
1. Author Notes

**Disclaimer:** I claim no ownership of any character, title, setting, concept, etc. belonging to the Naruto franchise. All rights and ownership belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**Warning:** The following story is rated M for scenes of child neglect, graphic violence, language and sexual situations.

**Legend:**

"Speech"

'_Thinking_'

"**Demonic/Furious Speech**"

'_**Demonic/Furious Thinking**_'

_Flashbacks_

**Full Summary:**

Naruto is sick of the glares, the hatred and the neglect; sick of pandering to the village with a mask of happiness. Seeing this, Kyuubi decides to take advantage and mold a weapon. From the ashes of innocence, a new Naruto will rise. One that is dark, one that is ruthless and one that will never stop. Will he forever be lost in darkness, or will someone come to calm the raging storm. Older!Naruto, Dark with eventual Grey!Naruto, Naruto/FemHaku

**Author Notes:**

I want to give a shout-out to Noodlehammer and his story, Reaching for a Dream. It is my number two story on this website. In it, he introduced a different concept that I had not seen before. Being, Naruto not being able to use normal ninjutsu due to having too much chakra. I rather like the idea and decided to try my own spin on it. In addition to this, I am also making him older than in cannon, being a year younger than Itachi and age 15 at the start of Canon time. Also, many have messaged me about my first story, Trials of Ice and Fire, but to be honest, after a couple semesters of college classes, I don't really like the way it is anymore and would sooner rewrite it than continue on.

Next, you may see some similarities to Star Wars in this story. That is because I've been reading a lot of Star Wars lately and decided to try and adapt and recreate some concepts in a way that would make sense in the Naruto universe. No Naruto will not be having crazy force powers that allow him to dominate everything. The only thing I will explain is that these concepts will be tied in to his elemental training, elements which will consist of fire and lightning and maybe a bit of his outfit.

Also, this story will be updated as I have time. There will be no fixed schedule because I honestly don't have one due to my work with my college classes. So please don't send me messages or reviews asking when I'm going to update, as I will not answer them.

Finally, I want to make things clear about this story. I'm trying to avoid most of the common clichés in Naruto fanfiction. The most common is the villagers beating Naruto and the inclusion of a village council. While I personally don't mind it, as long as it's not taken to some ridiculous extent that some stories (my previous one included) do, there are plenty out there that don't like the whole beating and Village Council thing.

So here is what I'm doing: There will be glares, hatred, neglect and so much more negativity on the part of the villagers, but they will not be forming mobs and chasing Naruto in the streets. It's been done many times and it is starting to get old.

In addition, there is still a council, but it has no executive power, it only consists of four people and is advisory only. Representing the military, there is Danzo and the current ANBU commander. Then representing the civilians, the elders Homura and Koharu. They both meet with the Hokage and bring to him any important issues that need discussions and at which point the Hokage takes them under advisement. There is no voting on an issue as the village is a dictatorship where the Hokage's word is law. So yes, the elders and Danzo can sputter and protest all they like but the Hokage has the final word.

That is all the important issues I can think of. So now, read and enjoy the story! Be sure to review so I know what you think about it.

**EDIT 1/19/2017: **I've finally decided to try and put my butt in gear and make a little bit of progress on this story again. I don't know how long I'll be able to motivate myself into doing it, but here it goes anyway. Each of the following three chapters will have been revised and I advise you to read from the beginning.


	2. The Will to Live

**Part 1**

**Introduction Arc**

**Chapter 1 - The Will to Live**

There is a torrential storm engulfing the usually peaceful village of Konohagakure no Sato; with billowing winds, torrential rain, ground shaking thunder and forked lightning illuminating the otherwise pitch black night. In the face of such a great and terrible storm almost the entire village is taking shelter in their homes. But as lightning once again flashes across the sky, it briefly illuminates a small figure sitting on the edge of Hokage monument, more specifically, the head of the Yondaime. A closer look at the figure reveals a boy, while appearing only nine years old, is in actuality twelve. His ragged clothes, enough to barely cover him do nothing to hide his malnourished frame. His hair while normally blonde is blackened with dirt and other filth that comes from living on the streets. His face is pale and cheeks marred by lines resembling whiskers. But all of that is nothing compared to his eyes; eyes that have no place being on a child. These eyes, eyes of the deepest blue, are dulled by pain and anguish that comes from a village showing nothing but hatred and contempt for his very existence, if they acknowledged him at all. These eyes were dead with no spark of life in them. Were it not for the rise and fall of his small chest, one would never know he was alive.

You might wonder why this child was on the monument during a storm. Such a thing is dangerous, especially in this storm. A large gust of wind could blow him off the edge, the torrential downpour could sicken him, and even the lightning could strike him at such a height. The boy knew all of this, but he didn't care. In fact, one might even say he would welcome it. Why you ask; because anything would be better than his current existence. This boy, this broken child, is Naruto Uzumaki; jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune that attacked his home village on the day of his birth, the same attack that robbed him of his parents, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. However Naruto knew none of this. If it weren't for the kindly village leader that occasionally came to see him in the orphanage before he was thrown out a week ago, he would not even know his name, due to constantly being called monster or demon.

It was during this storm that one of the ANBU that had been searching for the missing child on orders of the Sandaime Hokage found Naruto as he was sitting on the edge of the monument. Arriving in a blur of speed behind the child, the boy turned around and stared at the holes of the ANBU mask where the eyes would be, not reacting or moving beyond that. Black cloak fluttering in the wind, the weasel-masked ANBU stepped forward and gently picked up the child and cradled his malnourished frame to his own body as he disappeared in a murder of crows to report to his leader.

* * *

_**In the Hokage's office**_

In a circular office dominated by a large desk that was full of unfinished paperwork, we see Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, standing in front of the large panoramic window that overlooks the village. The elderly man was puffing on his pipe with an anguished air around him as he once again looked over the report dated 3 days ago that is causing him so much grief.

_ANBU REPORT PRIORITY ONE_

_Agent: Uchiha, Itachi_

_Code Name: Weasel_

_Rank: ANBU Captain_

_Subject: Uzumaki, Naruto_

_Begin Report_

_I made my way to the village orphanage for my weekly check-in on the subject. Upon my arrival I could no longer sense the large chakra signature that is distinctive to the subject. Investigation revealed that the caretaker, one Kisara Ishida, decided to "kick the filthy demon out of my fine establishment to the streets where it belongs". Upon breaking the Hokage's decree regarding the subject's jinchuuriki status, I immediately incapacitated her with a small genjutsu and transported her to the T&amp;I dept. for immediate interrogation *see attached report filed by Ibiki Morino* where no further relevant information on the location of the subject was obtained. Per the Hokage's decree, Kisara Ishida was summarily executed and her body disposed of. I suggest that immediate efforts are made to locate the subject for fear of village retaliation._

_End Report_

* * *

Turning away from the window where he could see the storm was raging, Hiruzen gazed upon the portrait of the past Hokage, more specifically, the Yondaime with sadness.

_'Forgive me Minato. No matter what I try to do it appears your son will have no end to this strife. The village foolishly projects their hatred for the beast sealed within him on him when they should be celebrating his existence as a hero. You would be so ashamed of your village.'_

A surge of chakra breaks him out of his ruminations to see a murder of crows forming into the familiar shape of the ANBU captain Itachi Uchiha with the still emotionless Naruto in his arms.

"Naruto!" - The Hokage cries out in shock as he sees the deplorable condition he is in. Seeing the boy shift his gaze with those dead eyes to his self proclaimed jii-san, the old Hokage could not help but have a cold chill go down his spine as he sees the dead, incomprehensive gaze of the boy he thinks of as his grandson.

Snapping out of his shock, Hiruzen kneels in front of the boy sitting on the couch and gently asks - "Naruto-kun? Can you hear me? What happened to you?"

However, there is no response from the boy, only an immense sadness and pain appears in his eyes as a few tears fall down his grime streaked cheeks. This only causes the Hokage's heart to be crushed with the weight of more guilt and anguish. With a breaking heart, Hiruzen turns to the now unmasked face of Itachi Uchiha and gives him a nod. Returning it, Itachi's onyx eyes morph to the distinctive red with three black tomoe of the sharingan as he steps forward and gently shifts Naruto's head so dull blue is gazing into sharingan red. Upon seeing the hypnotically spinning tomoe of the sharingan, Naruto's eyes immediately start to droop before shutting completely in sleep. Itachi then gently lays him down on the couch that looks so large on his small frame. Seeing the child shiver from the cold of being in the rain for hours, Itachi removes his cloak and gently wraps it around the now sleeping child, whose face even in sleep seems lined with pain.

Turning to look at the village leader now sitting behind his desk with his shoulders shaking due to suppressed sobs, Itachi says in a soft-spoken, yet still serious voice - "With all due respect Hokage-sama, this cannot go on. He has not smiled or laughed in almost a year now. His existence is continuously ignored by a majority of the village and what acknowledgement he does recieve is nothing but misplaced hatred and contempt. If this continues, I fear he will not live to see his thirteenth birthday; whether by the village finally deciding to try and kill the boy or him simply committing suicide."

Sighing sadly, the Hokage nods and says - "You are correct Itachi-kun. But what can we do? I can't keep making more laws that the villagers will just disregard anyway. They already deny him service in almost every store, he is constantly sabotaged in the academy and the older generations keep their own children away from Naruto-kun. If I push the villagers even further, they might start physically attacking him. I can't even imagine what a disaster that could be."

Nodding, Itachi adds - "Not to mention the threat of Danzo and his ROOT. He and the elders have been trying for years to get you to hand him over to them."

Hiruzen just nods silently in agreement as both men look at the sleeping jinchuuriki. With a voice that has the smallest hint of pleading, Hiruzen asks - "What should I do Itachi-kun? No matter how much I try to help, I seem to just make things worse."

Itachi contemplates this as he gazes silently at Naruto.

_'He could be capable of great things for this village. A true symbol of a peace to be sought after. But given the current state of things, such a hope is impossible.'_

After a few minutes of silence barring the sounds of the storm outside, Itachi gives an almost inaudible sigh with a final thought of - _'For the good of Konoha.'_ turns to the Hokage with onyx eyes hard and determined saying - "I will train him. Let me take him away from the influence of the village's hatred and teach him of the Will of Fire."

Hiruzen looks up, startled and curious. He takes the pipe out of his mouth before asking - "Why would you do this Itachi-kun? And what would your own clan have to say about training the village jinchuuriki? You know the situation is delicate with them right now. They have become more and more isolated since the Kyuubi attack and I don't trust Fugaku anywhere near Naruto-kun."

Itachi, having thought of this, replies - "You can make this an S-Rank mission and then they would not have to know the details as they would be classified. They would only know that I have to leave the village for an undetermined amount of time."

Nodding thoughtfully, Hiruzen strokes his goatee and says - "Yes that would work. But are you willing to undertake this task? It will be monumental in his current condition. You could be gone for a long time."

Standing at attention, Itachi replies - "Yes Hokage-sama. I am willing to do whatever it takes for the sake of the village."

Hiruzen nods then stands with a face full of authority that only the Hokage can make. Seeing his leader's change in demeanor, Itachi immediately kneels with his right arm crossed over his chest, making a fist over his heart in the traditional ANBU salute.

Seeing this, Hiruzen then gives the order - "ANBU Captain Weasel. I am assigning you the S-Rank mission of taking the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki, away from the village for two years. During which time you are to train and instruct him to the best of your abilities to live the life of a shinobi."

Nodding in acceptance, Itachi responds - "Hai, Hokage-sama, I will not fail you."

Itachi rises as Hiruzen moves back behind his desk to write out the mission scroll and stamps it with the Hokage Seal. Handing the scroll to Itachi, Hiruzen says - "Train him well Itachi. Show him the Will of Fire that Konoha prides itself on and send me weekly reports via your summons. Gather your gear. You leave in one hour."

Pocketing the scroll, Itachi then picks up Naruto and disappears in a murder of crows.

Meanwhile, unknown to the two, there was someone hidden in the office who had heard the entire conversation.

_'I must inform Danzo-sama of this.'_

The cloaked figure, with a mask that has the kanji for Root, silently disappears from the Hokage's office.

* * *

_**One hour later at the village gates**_

Itachi, who has Naruto draped across his back with another cloak to shield him from the rain, was making his way out the village gates when he senses a spike of potent killing intent. Sharingan activating on reflex to the presence of the killing intent, Itachi detects a familiar chakra signature. Puzzled, and mildly alarmed, Itachi slowly turns to a seemingly empty space in the shadows of the gate and waits for the person to make himself known.

"Where are you going with Naruto, Itachi?" - The voice asks in a deadly serious tone.

The person, who steps out of the shadows, reveals himself to be attired in the standard jonin outfit with the addition of a half mask covering the end of his nose and lower face, had gravity defying silver hair that stands up even in the torrential downpour and a scarred eye covered by his hitai-ate. This left the remaining eye, a hard onyx color pinning Itachi in place with his senpai's piercing gaze. His stance, while appearing to be relaxed almost to the point of lazy, is in fact on guard and ready to strike at the slightest move at the person who appears to be kidnapping his sensei's son.

Deliberately lowering his guard and bringing his hands up to show cooperation, Itachi asks carefully- "What are you doing here Kakashi-senpai?"

The now identified Kakashi steps forward and blocks the path out of the gate. Raising a kunai and falling into a ready stance born of experience, Kakashi retorts with his gaze and tone unchanged - "That does not matter Itachi now answer the question. Where are you going with Naruto?"

"I cannot give you the details Senpai. Only that this is a mission from Hokage-sama and we will be gone for two years." - Itachi replies as he slowly reaches into his cloak revealing the mission scroll bearing the Hokage Seal.

Slowly stepping forward with his guard never dropping, Kakashi reaches out and takes the scroll from Itachi who has not moved a muscle. Upon verifying the authenticity of the scroll, Kakashi drops his ready stance and adopts a solemn air about him as he looks at the blonde haired child covered by the cloak on Itachi's back and asks - "Are things now so bad that he has to be removed from the village?"

Itachi glances back at the child he had watched over for the past two and a half years and only nods. Kakashi sighs and then shunshins away with a parting order to take care of him. After taking one last look around the village he will not see for the next two years, Itachi steps beyond the borders of the gate and vanishes in a burst of speed to travel the rest of the day and through the night toward their destination.

* * *

_**Primary ROOT Headquarters**_

Deep underneath the leaf village, there is a huge network of tunnels. These tunnels have had many uses over the years since Konoha's founding; but now they have been commandeered by Danzo Shimura, a man with the title of The Darkness of the Shinobi, to use as his primary base for his ROOT ANBU. Danzo himself is currently standing in front of a kneeling operative as he listens to the latest developments in the case of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki.

"Is this information accurate, Torune? The jinchuuriki has been removed from the village?" - Danzo asks without a shred of emotion visible on his face or heard in his voice, as is typical of his iron control over his emotions.

Still kneeling with his head bowed to his leader, the masked operative replies - "Hai, Danzo-sama; our agent in the Hokage's office has reported that due to the poor treatment of the jinchuuriki, Itachi Uchiha was to take him away from the village for training. He left approximately 22 minutes ago through the main gates."

_'What are you thinking Hiruzen? Giving him to that pacifist fool Itachi to train with is just asking for a weak weapon. Damnable fool, you should have given him to me.' _\- Danzo mentally seethes as he gestures in dismissal to Torune who dissapears silently.

Moving behind his desk and sitting down with his fingers crossed in front of his face, Danzo gazes at the large Konoha symbol engraved on his floor as he continues to contemplate.

_'Very well Hiruzen, lets see how this decision of yours will play out. No matter what happens due to your interference, I will be prepared.'_

* * *

_**Near the outskirts of Hi no Kuni**_

It is now approaching dawn as the duo of Itachi and the still slumbering Naruto arrive at an old Uchiha clan hideout that has not been used since the Second Shinobi War. Having passed the edges of the storm several hours ago, the now dry Itachi takes Naruto inside and prepares to rest for a few hours before starting his mission.

As Itachi makes his way to one of the rest areas, he lights the torches with a small katon jutsu, throwing the barren room in a dull orange light. Taking a look around and seeing the layers of dust that covered everything Itachi uses a fuuton jutsu to clear a small area of most of the dust and dirt. Reaching into his cloak, Itachi removes a small scroll that he rolls out onto the floor. It bears many seals with kanji explaining their purpose. Channeling some chakra through the seal marked bedding; two neatly rolled and packed futons pop out.

Laying them both out, Itachi gently places Naruto on one before removing his hooded cloak, mask and ANBU armor. Then he proceeds to lay down on the other one. As Itachi looks out one of the windows towards the direction of Konoha, a stray though crosses his mind as he succumbs to exhaustion.

_'Forgive me Outoto. But young Naruto needs me more than you do right now.'_

* * *

_**Inside Naruto's mindscape**_

Inside the dark and dank sewer full of large pipes and many tunnels, one can make out a faint crimson light at the end of one that, when followed, leads to the enourmous bars that extend to ceiling. Behind these bars, we see a massive red eye full of unfathomable hatred and malice narrow in thought as the mighty biju contemplates all it had witnessed over the past day.

Seething in hate due to the presence of one of the wretched Uchiha, a snarl rips free from his mouth revealing menacing teeth the size of a full grown man as a chilling voice echoes out of the depths of the mindscape.

**"And so a new ripple makes itself known. It appears things will soon become interesting."**

* * *

_**The next afternoon**_

Dull blue eyes full of pain open up to see an unfamiliar figure taking two fingers away from his forehead as sharingan eyes fade to black.

"Hello Naruto-kun. Do you know who I am?"

Looking around Naruto spots the familiar weasel mask before turning back toward the figure and asking in confused voice - "Weasel-san?"

At Itachi's nod, Naruto continues with his questions.

"Why am I here Weasel-san? Where am I?"

Sitting down in front of the confused child, Itachi starts explaining what is happening.

"First off Naruto-kun, my name is Itachi Uchiha; do not call me by my ANBU name while we are here. As for why you are here; the Hokage has decided to allow me to take you away from the village and train you in the ways of the shinobi."

A spark of life enters the blue eyes at the word 'training' and Naruto gives off the faintest of smiles as he asks an almost desperately hopeful voice - "Jii-san is letting you train me?"

With a gentle smile, Itachi nods and says - "That is correct. Are you ready to begin?"

Standing up Naruto gives a genuine smile that brings hope to Itachi's heart and says in a determined voice - "Hai Itachi-san; I am ready to begin."

And so began the routine that would slowly but surely bring Naruto out of his depression. The month was slow as Itachi concentrated on correcting the damage to Naruto's body. He started him off on simple strength and endurance drills, as well as feeding him nutrient rich meals designed to help correct the malnourishment. When the two weren't training, they were working on cleaning up their new home. It had been a long time since the place was inhabited, so there was much to do.

The building itself had all the dust and dirt removed as well as repairing various structural damage caused by years of exposure to the elements with no one to maintain it. The grounds were also cleared up as well. With the grass being trimmed and overgrown plants removed, the training fields were cleared of debris and had the sparring dummies and obstacles repaired.

Many other things went into the clean-up of the place and pretty soon, the place looked livable once again. During this time, Itachi assigned most of the menial work to his young charge so as to begin the foundations of recovering his strength. Eventually, with all the manual labor combined with exercise and the strict nutritional regiment, Naruto began to grow and fill out into what an athletic twelve year old should look like.

For the next few months, Itachi began training Naruto not only physically, but mentally as well. It abhorred Itachi when he realized the standard education that all the children receive in the academy Naruto only got the bare bones of. He already knew of the sabotage in the academy, but to deprive Naruto of such basic knowledge of living was despicable.

So after evaluating the knowledge and skills Naruto already had and finding them either completely wrong or so substandard they might as well not even exist, Itachi decided to start practically from the very beginning. He began with writing and comprehension skills, eventually moving on to basic mathematics and history. He also began to impart various other skills that will help him in life such as manners and etiquette, survival skills, emotional control and finally meditation.

Naruto began soaking everything up like a sponge. There was no subject that was too boring or uninteresting to him. Naruto began looking up to Itachi as an older brother figure and did everything he could to make him proud. He always put in 110% into everything he did; his exercises, his studies, all of it.

As the months kept passing, Itachi began increasing the difficulty of his drills and studies as well as beginning instruction in basic forms of taijutsu. It was here where Naruto truly excelled; he kept growing stronger and stronger with each passing day at a rate that astounded Itachi. However, not everything went smoothly. It was when Naruto began chakra training that one issue became readily apparent.

* * *

_Flashback - 9 months into training_

_"Try again Naruto-kun." - Itachi asked after seeing Naruto blast through yet another tree in an attempt to learn tree climbing._

_Naruto, dressed in a simple set of black training clothes once again stepped forward to the tree and channeled as little chakra as he could before he was once again blasted back._

_Motioning Naruto over to him Itachi decided to activate his sharingan in order to analyze Naruto's chakra flow and try to figure out the problem. However, upon activating it and gazing upon his chakra network, Itachi almost recoiled at the sheer amount he saw packed in the small frame._

_'He has as much chakra as the Hokage. No wonder he cannot do this.'_

Naruto simply had too much chakra to be able to perform standard shinobi techniques and it would only continue to grow as he aged. Naruto was very disappointed and began to work on his chakra control with an almost religious fervor in order to try and overcome this obstacle. But no matter how much he tried, his chakra was simply too large and dense.

When this became readily apparent, Itachi expected Naruto to once again fall into a depression; however Naruto surprised him with his acceptance and began to try and see it as an advantage. Then for the rest of the year, he threw himself into his training with almost suicidal zeal that had Itachi concerned. But no matter how much Itachi decided to try and get him to slow down, Naruto always disregarded him.

By the end of the first year, Naruto was already almost chunin level in skills. It was almost disconcerting how much he was improving. The next few months of the second year were dedicated to elemental training. After discovering his affinities, which was an extraordinarily strong affinity to fire and an almost equal level in lightning, Naruto and Itachi began to try and experiment in things that could be done with Naruto's elements seeing as normal ninjutsu and genjutsu were forever out of his reach.

It was here when Itachi began to back off and let Naruto become more self-reliant, seeing as he had little left to teach him. He had nowhere near the amount of chakra that Naruto had so he could not teach him genjutsu, which was his forte, and he was only able to teach him the most chakra intensive techniques that he knew, such as the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu _and other such techniques that required an enormous amount of chakra to perform.

It was about seven months into the second year when things turned to a darker direction for Itachi. He began to notice small things about Naruto that started becoming worrisome the closer they came to returning to the village. There appeared to be a darkness growing in Naruto that Itachi had no idea what to do about and by the time the final month came around, he became cold to everything, even him.

Naruto was very careful hiding this transformation from Itachi but he still let some things slip occasionally; on overly vicious strike in a spar, a distinct lack of mercy in some bandit camp exterminations that he and Naruto used for some training and just general ruthlessness. Every time Itachi tried to confront Naruto about this, he was always brushed off and had the subject changed. Even if he insisted, Naruto clammed up with the emotionless look that had taken to being permanently etched on his face and refused to talk to Itachi for a few days, instead choosing to visciously destroy the training grounds and surrounding area.

Itachi was worried about returning to the village with Naruto in such a state, but he had no choice. The reports he received from the Hokage were becoming worrisome and it looked like his clan was further destabilizing. He had to get back and figure out what was happening as it was starting to look like the village would be plunged into a civil war.

Eventually, the day came when they had to return to the village and Itachi had no idea just how much things were about to change.

* * *

**EDIT 1/19/17: This chapter has been revised and new content has been added.  
**

**EDIT 1/28/17: Fixed an error that incorrectly said Naruto was nine, not twelve.**


	3. Reunions

**Part 1**

**Introduction Arc**

**Chapter 2 - Reunions**

_**On approach to the village gates**_

Two figures can be seen approaching the main gate at a leisurely pace. One standing at 5'7" dressed in Konoha ANBU gear; the other standing at 5'5" dressed in an all black outfit with his face covered by the hood of a cloak. These two figures were Itachi Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki. A gust of wind briefly reveals Naruto's face with a Konoha hitai-ate on his forehead. The blond's face is now less rounded and more pointed from the loss of baby fat that comes with puberty.

Within the shadows of his hood, he could not help but look upon the gates of Konoha with contempt; a soft, animalistic growl and spike of killing intent breaking through the emotionless facade he had placed around himself. This drew the attention of his sensei, causing him to stop walking and ask - "Is there a problem Naruto-kun?"

Immediately feeling the killing intent disappear as Naruto firmly closed his emotional barriers, he only gives a brief shake of his head as he continues on toward the village gates with Itachi only half a second behind as he wore a concerned frown behind his ANBU mask.

_'He may suppress his feelings but I can still see the signs of his rage. If the mere sight of the village causes a reaction strong enough to break through his barriers, I shudder to think what will happen when the villagers find out he is back.'_

Arriving at the check-in station Itachi notices the chunin duo of Izumo and Kotetsu looking at them but making no move to approach the cloaked duo, choosing instead to eye them warily. Itachi notices one slowly moving his hand near the alarm seal located under the desk.

It is an understandable precaution, as most ANBU never return from a mission through the front gates. But Itachi, having Naruto with him, cannot reveal the secret entrance into the village to a ninja not belonging to the ANBU Black Ops.

Motioning Naruto to wait, Itachi makes his way over to the check-in station and says while flashing the coded hand signal for friendlies - "ANBU Captain Weasel returning from an S-Rank mission."

Upon hearing Itachi's voice and seeing the coded hand signal, the two nod discretely and Kotetsu waves them on with a reply of - "Welcome back ANBU-san. Please report to the Hokage for debriefing."

Leaving with a nod, the cloaked duo walk into the village and pause at the sight of the place they have not seen in two years. Turning to address his silent companion, he is interrupted before a word can be spoken.

"You go report to the Hokage, Itachi-sensei. I would rather not walk through the village." - Naruto curtly says.

"Why not Naruto? I'm sure Hokage-sama is looking forward to seeing you." - Itachi responds curiously.

Naruto turns away and vanishes in a murder of crows with a parting response of - "I will see him later, when there are not so many of these... _people_ around."

Hearing the barely veiled contempt when he said people, Itachi only sighed before vanishing in his own crow shunshin to the Hokage's office.

* * *

_**In the Hokage's office**_

Hiruzen Sarutobi was taking a well-deserved break from the never ending paperwork that seemed to be the bane of his life; smoking his pipe while overlooking the village he is the leader of.

_'It has been two years already. They should be coming back soon.'_

Hiruzen turns and looks at a picture on his desk of a younger version of himself and a much younger version of Naruto sitting on his lap both looking at the camera with bright smiles on their faces. As Hiruzen was staring at the photo, a stray crack suddenly appeared directly over Naruto's place in the picture. Staring at the crack, the old Hokage cannot help but be struck by an ominous feeling of foreboding. Before he can begin contemplating the bad omen however, Hiruzen sees the signature murder of crows form the shape of Itachi Uchiha who quickly removes his weasel mask revealing his face bearing an uncharacteristic frown on his usually stoic visage.

_'I have a bad feeling about this. Where is Naruto?'_

Before the Hokage can ask about the missing blond, Itachi quickly says - "We might have a problem."

The ominous feeling that has been plaguing him only increases at this one sentence spoken from Itachi. Lighting his pipe with a small application of katon chakra, Hiruzen takes a deep draw of the calming tobacco before addressing his agent.

"Report."

* * *

_**Red Light District - Konoha**_

Naruto, now away from his sensei allows his stoic visage to fall. In its' place is feeling of rage and power, barely kept in control, boiling just under the surface. With his eyes flickering between red and blue as he walks through the red light district towards the location of his apartment, memories spring to the forefront of his mind unbidden; memories of pain and suffering.

Shaking them off as he nears his building, Naruto tries to bring his rage under control. However, upon sight of the place, Naruto wants nothing more than to go on a murderous rampage. The building had been all but destroyed; the foundation was crumbling, all the windows were destroyed, graffiti covered every inch of what was left of the walls, and it even looked like somebody tried to set the building ablaze judging by the scorch marks.

With his eyes fully red now and his chakra and bloodlust creating an almost visible aura around him, Naruto snarls and thinks - _'Why am I not surprised that these worms took away the one place that I could call my own in this damned village. They boast that Konoha is the home of the Will of Fire, the friendliest village in the nations and then they do this; what hypocrites.'_

Naruto then hears the familiar sinister voice of his tenant saying - **"I truly wonder how much longer you can resist before giving in to your instincts human. You were a fool to put any value in the words of your foolish sensei. Nothing has changed and it never will; unless of course, you decided to do something to make them change."**

Firmly clamping down on his emotional barriers and letting the red bleed from his eyes, Naruto responds - _'You were right Kyuubi, I was foolish. However, that does not mean Itachi-sensei was completely wrong. If he was, why would he take the time to train me? Yes, I know the Hokage ordered him to; but Itachi-sensei is an S-Rank ninja. He could have disposed of me any time we moved beyond the gates and made it look like a complete accident.'_

Naruto hears the mighty biju snarl and retort - **"Because, you foolish boy, he does not want the 'village weapon' to be a blunted sword, they need a weapon who's blade is sharp and deadly. Make no mistake boy, that is all the village will ever see you as; a weapon to be used. You are a jinchuuriki and of the strongest biju; that kind of power is used to keep the so-called peace of your village by using you as a threat to the other villages against retaliation. Do you really think they will just dispose of their greatest asset?"**

Naruto grimaces as he recognizes the truth in Kyuubi's logic and hears a chuckle as the mighty beast continues - **"And you know it, don't you? That is why you never revealed my presence in your mind to that damnable Uchiha you call a sensei. You know that only I can give you the power you need to break the chains that bind you to servitude."**

Adopting a voice that simply radiates the promise of power, the Kyuubi tempts - **"You need only give in Naruto and all my knowledge, all my experience will be within your grasp. Pledge yourself to my teachings, and I will help you make this village tremble at your feet."**

While not the first time Kyuubi made such an offer; Naruto did not immediately reject it as he did during the early days of his tenuous relationship with the biju inside of his body. However, as the days grew closer to his return to the village that scorned him, he could not help but give it a few more seconds of consideration before ultimately rejecting it. But now that he was back in the village, surrounded by these parasites, the offer was looking very tempting indeed.

As Naruto continues to walk on without giving an answer, the mighty beast cannot help but be immensely pleased by the turmoil he can feel in his container.

_**'Hehehehe. It won't be much longer.'**_

* * *

_**Back in the Hokage's office**_

Sighing in weariness as Itachi concludes his report, the Hokage can only wonder where things began to go wrong. Looking at the teen across from him he asks - "So it was shortly after you let him sign your summoning contract that he began to show this darkness you mention?"

Nodding in confirmation, Itachi thinks back on the strange events that occurred.

* * *

_Flashback - 1 year 8 months into the training trip_

_Watching his student with pride as he runs through his drills, Itachi decides that he should give him a reward._

_"Naruto-kun, come over here please."_

_Glancing over to his sensei, Naruto nods in acknowledgement as he finishes the kata he is working on and makes his way over. Kneeling in respect, Naruto asks in a blank voice that is so similar to Itachi - "What do you require of me sensei?"_

_Motioning him to rise, Itachi says - "I have a gift for you Naruto-kun."_

_Eyebrow rising in curiosity, Naruto remains silent as Itachi flies through a few hand seals and presses his hand on the ground causing a puff of smoke to appear. Only a brief widening of his eyes betray Naruto's surprise as a tall scroll appears._

_Recognizing a summoning contract from his previous studies, Naruto quickly arrives at the logical conclusion. A small smile appears showing his pleasure as he says - "You are giving me your summoning contract."_

_Itachi nods and explains with a hint of pride shining through his usual stoic self - "You are my greatest student Naruto-kun; my apprentice in all but name. It is only fitting that I give you my summoning contract, provided you pass their test gain their approval of course."_

_Nodding, Naruto takes the scroll and asks - "What is the test Itachi-sensei?"_

_"When you sign your name in blood, a crow will appear to judge you of your worthiness. By looking into your eyes, the crow will be able to read your very essence and speak to you; no secrets will be hidden from its gaze. If you pass the test, the red of your blood will fade to black; if you fail, your name will vanish from the contract." - Itachi replies._

_A flash of concern appears in Naruto's eyes before it instantly disappears. Most would have missed it, but not Itachi. Somewhat curious but putting it out of his mind, he asks - "Are you ready?"_

_With only the barest hint of hesitation, Naruto unrolls the scroll before biting his thumb and signing his name. As soon as the last stroke ended the kanji began glowing red and a puff of smoke reveals what could only be an elder crow. Its usual black plumage has hints of grey and its bright red eyes are alight with immense wisdom. Its' head swivels from Itachi to Naruto a couple of times before its gaze settles on the blonde._

_The crow's beak opens and an aged voice emanates from it saying - "Hmm. So you are the one who would sign our contract. Kneel before me boy and let me see if you are worthy."_

_Itachi watches as the blond knelt before the crow and gazed into its' eyes, awaiting the verdict. A variety of emotions play across his face in rapid succession before they rapidly disappear. First a flash of surprise, no doubt from hearing a voice speak in his head. Then there is concern, which Itachi is not surprised about, however he himself became concerned when anger appears shortly followed by what only could be hate. The sheer depth of it surprises Itachi greatly; but as quickly as it appeared, it was gone._

_'This could be problematic. Where did such hatred come from?' - Itachi thinks._

_Itachi is brought out of his thoughts when the crow breaks away from Naruto and looks at him and says - "He is worthy."_

_Without another word the crow disappears and the red glow of the blood fades to black signifying acceptance. However, Itachi did not notice any of this, his mind on the mental message he heard the elder crow leave in his mind._

_'Watch him. He is dangerous.'_

_Flashback End_

* * *

Curiously, the Hokage asks - "Did you ask Naruto-kun what the crow said to warrant such a reaction?"

Nodding, Itachi replies - "I did and he replied that it was not important. Curiously enough though, I caught a brief hint of indecision before he responded. It was after this that he became more distant and ruthless."

Hiruzen was not called the Professor for nothing; he knew very well what such darkness in Naruto could mean. But he was an old man; one who thought of the young teen as his own grandson. He did not want to consider the ramifications his mind could not help but play out in his head.

Trying to find some way to explain it, some explanation that he could use to help the whiskered teen, Hiruzen asks - "Do you think the Kyuubi can have anything to do with this Itachi? Could it be influencing Naruto?"

Itachi frowns and shakes his head saying - "No it appears the Kyuubi still remains dormant inside of the seal. I've seen no sign of its presence in Naruto's actions. That however is what I'm unable to understand; from what I know of the Kyuubi, it thrives on negative emotions. Why would it not stir in the face of Naruto's hatred? It is confusing."

Hiruzen has no answer to that and tells Itachi - "There is still much we don't understand about the seal that holds the Kyuubi at bay inside of Naruto. Minato truly was a genius at fuinjutsu; crafting a seal powered by the Shinigami is something that has never been done before. Even Jiraiya, who possesses the key to the seal and Minato's original notes, was unable to break it down. There is no way to predict how the seal will interact with Kyuubi's presence."

"Which means Naruto's darkness is his own." - Itachi concludes.

Sighing, the Hokage nods his head in confirmation. Placing his hand over his eyes and looking as if the weight of the world was pressing down on his shoulders, Hiruzen says - "This is my fault Itachi. I should never have announced Naruto's jinchuuriki status to the village. But I had thought I was following Minato's last wish for his son to be seen as a hero. I _knew_ how jinchuuriki were treated in other villages, but I thought the village's love for the Yondaime would outweigh the negative stigma that comes with being one. I see now that was the wishful thinking of an old man that wanted only to see the best of his village."

While wishing he could reassure his leader, Itachi knew he could not because the elderly man was correct; announcing Naruto's status to the village _was _a mistake. So Itachi stood in silence while waiting for the Hokage to regain a hold of his emotions.

Gathering himself, Hiruzen motions Itachi to take a seat and asks - "What do you recommend we do with him Itachi? You have been with him the longest, so I will defer to your judgment. But as it stands Naruto's attitude and obvious disdain for the village makes him a flight risk. If he were to leave the village, I shudder to think of the consequences."

Taking the offered seat, Itachi begins thinking aloud - "We can't send him to the academy, he is too strong and I fear if we tried it would only increase his resentment towards us; thinking we were trying to hold him back."

Curious, the Hokage asks - "What level of strength is he currently at Itachi?"

"He is around high chunin to low jonin at the moment. He has no genjutsu and only a small amount of powerful ninjutsu, due to his immense chakra reserves. What he lacks in techniques however, he more than makes up for with raw elemental manipulation and impressive taijutsu. He is growing physically and mentally at an impressive rate as well, due to his constant training. If he continues at his current rate of growth, he could be near the level of elite jonin by the time he turns eighteen." - Itachi responds to which the Hokage nods in contemplation.

Resuming his explanation, Itachi says - "So the academy is out of the question. I don't think putting him on a normal squad will work either, due to the village's attitude and Naruto's own. A genin squad is too weak for Naruto and has too much interaction with the villagers and a chunin squad, while in terms of skill he would do nicely, still has a lot of interaction with the villagers."

Stroking his chin in a contemplative manner, Itachi continues - "We could try placing him in a jonin squad, but at his current level of strength he would more than likely hold the squad back. We also run an increased risk for Naruto's safety as most of this generation's jonin lost family in the Kyuubi attack. They have been some of Naruto's strongest detractors."

Itachi pauses as a thought passes across the forefront of his mind before looking straight in the Hokage's eyes as he says - "He needs to be away from the public eye of the village, for his own good and the good of the village. He also needs a safe way of venting his negative emotions in a way that works for the village, rather than against it. Finally, he will need to be watched due to his status as a flight risk and at the same time not put at risk for betrayal by his own comrades. Put that all together and I see only one possibility."

Hiruzen looks sad but resigned as he utters one word - "ANBU."

Itachi nods in confirmation as he continues speaking - "That is logically the best choice. We can submit him as a recruit under an apprenticeship program. This will allow him to safely grow stronger and at the same time keep him out of the public eye of the village due to the secrecy that comes from being an ANBU."

"Who will be his mentor Itachi, you?" - Hiruzen asks.

Shaking his head, Itachi responds - "No, I've taught him almost all that I can due to the restrictions posed by his massive amount of chakra. I think that he needs someone similar to him to open up to; someone that he can form a bond with. Though I did try during our trip to get him to open up, I believe in the beginning I was marginally successful. However, by the end of the training trip we grew too far apart; I'm afraid our relationship will be nothing beyond the respect that comes from a sensei and student. Between this and other issues that I have to resolve, I don't think I can provide what he needs."

Hiruzen, knowing by issues Itachi means the current instability in his clan, nods in acceptance and both men fall silent as they begin pondering the delicate situation.

Sighing, the Hokage says - "I will have to think on this Itachi. In the meantime, you are granted the mandatory two weeks off to rest and recuperate as required from a long term S-Rank mission."

Standing and bowing to his leader, Itachi says - "Thank you Hokage-sama, I will leave you now. Naruto wanted me to tell you that he would come and see you later."

Hiruzen nods and dismisses his agent who shunshins away.

* * *

_**Konoha Streets - Red Light District**_

Anko Mitariashi was curious about a certain blond haired gaki that she was following; curious and intrigued. The last time she had seen the child was just before her apprenticeship to Orochimaru began. Back then, he was a depressed boy with bouts of cheeriness and could not fight his way out of a wet paper bag. Now however, he radiated bloodlust and power; something that Anko was greatly interested in.

So here she was following him as he walked through the nearly deserted streets of the village; watching as the few villagers that were there glared and whispered angrily behind his back. It was after a clearly drunk and barely standing man decided to break away from his buddies and throw an empty sake bottle at him that things began to get very interesting.

* * *

_**With Naruto**_

Naruto was walking down the streets with a scowl etched on his face while trying to figure out a solution to his lack of housing problem. He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost missed when the glares and whispers began to start.

_"So the demon is back. I thought he was dead."_

_"Why is that piece of filth back in our village?"_

_"He should have just stayed away."_

Naruto, hearing all of this due to his chakra enhanced hearing, glares fiercely at the villagers and spikes his killing intent at them, making them instantly freeze and back away. It was then when his senses detected something being thrown at his head.

Naruto reflexively tosses a shuriken at the offending object and hears the sound of shattering glass as the shuriken hits its mark. He then turns to the person who threw the object, which a quick glance reveals to have been a sake bottle, and shoots a large dose of killing intent at the man. However, in the man's inebriated state, he completely ignores the danger and stumbles right up to the now fiercely glaring blond.

The man staggers forward until he was mere inches from the blond and Naruto is immediately hit with the stench of sake wafting off this man, showing how drunk the man really is. The man ignores Naruto's perusal and pokes him in the chest repeatedly while he drunkenly slurs - "You should *hic* not have come back demon. *hic* We were better *hic* off without you."

Naruto looks up and glares at the drunken fool and orders in a deadly voice tinged with malice - "You need to move out of my way. I have no desire to deal with you parasites now."

The man only laughs drunkenly and continues speaking oblivious to the rapidly rising bloodlust saying - "And why should I listen to a demon? *hic* You should just go die somewhere and be out of our lives forever."

He then spits right in Naruto's face at which point Naruto's patience snaps and a red haze begins to envelop his vision.

Wiping the spit off his face with an enraged look and red eyes, Naruto backhands the man into a wall, the force of the impact cracking the wall and a few of the man's ribs. It is the pain from this that helps bring the man out of his sake induced haze. It is with a clearer head that the man realizes the danger he is in as Naruto brings the full force of his rage to focus solely on him. He immediately begins trembling in fear as Naruto stalks toward him with the grace of an apex predator, the heavy black cloak concealing his body making it appear that Naruto is almost gliding towards the man.

With his bloodlust giving an almost palpable aura about him, Naruto adopts a feral grin that shows off his larger than average canines and asks - "That's not fear I smell, is it?"

Being only a civilian and unused to the feeling of killing intent, let alone a concentrated dose that was currently directed at him, the man can only tremble as he begins crying and begging for his life.

"Please don't kill me! I'm sorry all right! Just don't kill me! Please!"

Naruto only laughs as he points his hand at the trembling worm and shoots raw raiton chakra from his fingertips to engulf the man. Naruto's adrenaline surges as he hears the man begin screaming in agony. Cutting off the lightning after a few moments Naruto gives a sinister laugh as he stalks over to the man and kneels so his mouth is right by the man's ear. With a brief chuckle he softly asks - "Yes that hurt didn't it? You don't want me to do that again do you?"

Tears and mucus running freely down his face, the man can only blubber out pitiful denials and pleas for mercy. After taking a few seconds to enjoy the groveling, Naruto then whispers - "Sorry, all out of mercy."

After this ominous statement the man soils himself in pure terror. Upper lip curling in disgust Naruto steps back and shoots lightning out at the man once again while shouting - "Scream weakling! I want to hear your suffering!"

So lost in his bloodlust and the man's screaming he does not notice the blue lightning gaining a violet tinge as the Kyuubi starts leaking his chakra into Naruto's system, driving him further and further insane with bloodlust. He does not notice the remaining civilians fleeing in terror, or when his senses register a chakra presence appearing behind him. It is only when a kunai flies past his face, cutting his cheek does he regain control and cut off the lightning from killing the man who was now unconscious and covered in electrical burns.

Looking down at the half dead and smoking civilian he mentally reprimands himself - _'Damn it, I lost control.'_

Naruto with an immense strength of will, pushes his bloodlust away from the surface and adopts his stoic visage as he turns and regards the person who snapped him out of his blood rage. The person, a woman he sees, has brown eyes, spiky purple hair done up in a ponytail with her bangs partially concealing her hitai-ate and is scantily dressed in black sandals, shin guards, mesh armor, an orange miniskirt and brown trench coat that barely conceals her modesty.

Meeting her gaze, Naruto looks at her face expecting to see anger and disapproval; however instead there is only a smirk on her face with her eyes showing happiness, intrigue and... _satisfaction?_

Naruto regards the last with a hint of surprise but allows none of it to show on his face as he waits for the woman to speak. However the woman says nothing, merely content to twirl the ring of a kunai around her fingers with a smirk still on her face. Naruto frowns slightly and wonders if the woman is going to speak. A few more seconds pass before Naruto decides to speak up and ask - "What do you want kunoichi?"

The woman chuckles and says - "You don't recognize me gaki? I'm hurt."

Naruto is confused at the woman's statement and looks closely at her trying to remember where he had met her before. Focusing on her spiky purple hair bound in a ponytail and pupiless brown eyes, Naruto searches his memory for a person with those features. Finally a memory flashes to the forefront of his brain, a memory from his early childhood during his time at the orphanage.

_A girl with spiky purple hair and brown eyes wearing shabby clothes in the orphanage sharing a part of her meal with him when he was denied food once again, the same girl protecting him from the older kids picking on him, treating his cuts and bruises. _

More and more memories flashed by in an instant as Naruto finally recognizes her and asks - "Anko-neechan?"

The now identified Anko nods and smiles, saying - "Good to see you again gaki. You've grown up into quite the psychopath haven't you?"

Naruto only shows a feral smile in response to which Anko returns with one equally as sadistic. Stepping forward and brazenly throwing an arm around the blond, Anko draws the blond into a half-hug that allows her womanly assets to press against Naruto's arm. In spite of himself, a flush creeps up Naruto's face as he relaxes and says with amusement - "Still as blunt and brazen as ever. You haven't changed a bit."

Anko only laughs in response and turns her gaze to the man that Naruto tortured, saying - "You on the other hand have changed quite a bit; nice to see that you're not such a wimpy little boy like you used to be Gaki."

Naruto nods in agreement and tilts his head in the direction of the now unconcious man asking - "You aren't going to say I should have gone easy on him are you?

Shaking her head, Anko responds - "Hell no. I was watching; the drunken slob started the whole thing. So he has only himself to blame. I'm just glad I got to see it; that was some light show you put on. It was quite _exhilarating_."

The last word was said in a sensual whisper as Anko slid around so her assets were pressed into Naruto's back. She then licked the blood that was drawn by her thrown kunai off Naruto's cheek. The whiskered teen, still in the grips of puberty, could not help but have his minor flush evolve into a full blown blush as he felt the soft mounds of Anko's flesh pressing into him.

Trying to get a hold on his hormones, Naruto took a deep breath and asked - "Can you please get off of me Anko-neechan?"

Anko pouts and lets go, teasingly saying - "Fine, go and ruin all my fun why don't you."

Naruto and Anko both start chuckling in amusement of the situation. Stepping out of Naruto's personal space, Anko shoves her hands in the pockets of her coat and asks - "So what are you doing out here so late?"

Naruto shakes his head with a scoff and responds - "It seems in my absence that the villagers decided to destroy my apartment. So I have no place to go right now and was just looking for an isolated spot away from these worms to get some rest before I went to see the Hokage."

Anko scowls and shakes her head, saying - "Well that sucks; I guess while some things change, others stay the same."

Naruto only nods as the two lapse into a somewhat awkward silence. It is after a minute or so of walking that Anko then slaps a fist into her palm and decisively says - "Well that settles it; you are just going to have to crash at my place. It's huge and nobody ever shows up; perfect for two outcasts like us."

Naruto, not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, smirks and says - "Sounds perfect Anko-neechan. Where is it?"

Smiling, Anko cheerfully says - "I live in the tower located in the middle of training ground 44."

A chuckle escapes Naruto as his smirk widens and he says - "The Forest of Death, how fitting."

Nodding excitedly, Anko says - "I know right, its perfect for us. It's isolated, so we are away from the village, there is plenty of food and water to be found in the forest, not to mention that the place is dangerous so it provides a good training area. I've lived there since I was brought back to the village. Now let's get going, it's been a long day for both of us."

Naruto, while curious on her wording of that last sentence, disregards it while nodding and they both disappear with a respective crow and snake shunshin.

* * *

_**ROOT Headquarters**_

In a dark office deep underground we see a member of the ROOT ANBU kneeling while presenting a document to the war hawk while saying - "A report from one of the scouts in the village."

Dismissing the agent with a gesture Danzo opens the folder and quickly reads the contents and looks at the accompanying photo.

_'So at last you have returned. Let us see what that fool Itachi has managed to teach you.'_

* * *

_**Forest of Death**_

Arriving at the tower, Anko opens the gates with a flourish and says - "Welcome to my place Gaki. Now follow me and I'll take you to where we are staying."

With Naruto following, Anko goes past the lower floors used by the participants in the Chunin Exams and leads him to a cleverly hidden staircase at the rear of the arena balcony. Upon reaching the top there is a door which Anko opens to reveal a large furnished living area.

Starting the tour, Anko says - "This is the tower's residential wing. The room we are in now is the main living and work area. The doors on the right lead to the bathing area and onsen. It is the only one so you and I will have to share."

Seeing Naruto's eyes widen in surprise and then try to speak, Anko cuts him off and bluntly says - "Look Gaki, as you may have guessed from my outfit I'm not too big on modesty. There will be times when you and I will see each other with little to no clothes on. I'm telling you now that you will have to get over it. Seeing each other naked is not a big deal in my opinion, just don't start perving on me or my friends and we will be okay."

Lightly blushing, Naruto nods in understanding before something Anko said registers and he asks - "Friends? I thought it was just you and me here Anko?"

Adopting a sheepish expression, Anko scratches her head and says - "Yeah, I forgot to mention that. I got two friends that occasionally come here and crash from time to time when they want to get away from it all. I'll have to introduce you to them. But they are cool and won't bother you if you don't want them too."

Still frazzled, Naruto carelessly asks - "So they don't care that I'm the Ky-"

Naruto's winces as he realizes his mistake and looks sharply at Anko who is watching him with speculative look on her face.

Moving closer to him, she says - "So you _do _know that you're the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. I wonder how you found out considering it is an S-Rank secret that nobody but the Hokage was to tell you. Seeing as no one would dare violate the law the only way you could have found out is if..."

Anko leaves the statement open, clearly expecting Naruto to say the words. Grudgingly, Naruto realizes he already blew it and says - "...if I met the fox myself."

Anko nods seriously and asks - "I assume by your wincing you did not plan on letting anyone know you were in contact with the fox."

Naruto nods and asks - "Are you going to tell the Hokage?"

Anko just looks at him for a few seconds before she smirks and shakes her head, saying - "Nah, you obviously have your reasons and I don't particularly care what they are. So it's no biggie, I won't be telling anyone."

Naruto visibly relaxes and gives a thankful smile to Anko. Anko winks and then says - "Back to what I was saying; no my friends don't care that you hold the fox. They are probably one of the few in this village that don't have their heads up their asses and actually see you as the person who holds the fox, rather than the fox itself."

Anko turns and continues - "Moving on with the tour the doors on the left lead to the bedrooms. You can have your pick of the rooms except for the three at the end of the hall on the left side; those are reserved for my friends and I. Once you pick your room, mark the door and then you can have free reign with it."

Motioning to the staircase directly opposite the entrance, Anko says - "Finally, that staircase leads to the top levels of the tower. The first level is the storage area and armory which contains a lot of old equipment that has not seen the light of day for a long while. The second and third levels are the training rooms; they have pretty much everything you could ever want up there. Each room is organized with a specific type of training in mind so take your time to explore them all and above that leads to the roof of the tower."

Nonchalantly taking off her coat leaving her upper body clad in only her mesh armor, she tosses it on a nearby couch and plops down, motioning Naruto to do the same. Naruto blushes at the view of Anko's chest, but tries to shake it off and removes his own cloak revealing his well muscled body clad in simple mesh shirt with a black sleeveless vest and black pants.

Anko raises an eyebrow at how defined he looks considering his age but blows it off with a cheeky grin and says - "And that concludes Anko's tour of the tower. Do you have any questions?"

Looking curious, Naruto begins with - "I would think that the village would not just leave a bunch of equipment lying around. Do you have any idea why it is still here? Also, is any of the equipment in the storage area still usable?"

Nodding, Anko responds - "Yeah, though it is old, this place used to be ANBU headquarters before its location was compromised back in the second shinobi war. It had to be evacuated rather quickly and they left most of the equipment behind. I suppose in all of the chaos they never really returned for the equipment and by the time the war was over, most of the ANBU who were here were either dead or retired so this place just gradually faded from people's minds until the village decided to use it for the Chunin Exams. Even then, they just renovated the lower levels that contain the cafeteria, barracks and arena; leaving the upper areas alone."

Giving a smirk, Anko says - "After I found the stuff shortly after I moved in, I decided that if the village was dumb enough to forget a bunch of ANBU grade equipment, they didn't deserve to have it so I never informed them of my findings; thinking that I might have a use for it someday."

Looking thoughtful, Anko continues - "As to any of it being usable; I'm not really sure. I think it would be fine but I never really went in there and took a detailed look, so I don't really know what the condition of all the stuff is in. Considering the fact that this was ANBU headquarters, I assume the gear was well kept but it has been a long time; so I can only guess that most will be fine and only need minor repairs, if any at all."

Nodding in satisfaction, Naruto remarks - "Good, the less time I have to spend in the village shops the better off I'll be. I would not put it be surprised if they tried to sell me faulty or sabotaged equipment in the hopes I'll die on a mission. I'll definitely have to take a look later."

Nodding her head in agreement, Anko says - "Yeah they tried to do that very thing to me once, but I taught them that it was never a good idea to screw with me."

The two soon relax and hours pass as the two old friends spend their time catching up. Naruto at Anko's urging decided to fill her in on his life since she left and his time on the training trip and what he learned there. Anko in turn did the same with her time with Orochimaru and his eventual betrayal of her, even going so far as to show Naruto her curse seal. It was after that she talked of her return to the village and how the villagers have been treating her like crap, same with most of the ninja; deeming her a traitor. By the time dusk rolled around, the two were immensely surprised at just how much they revealed to each other and how similar their lives were.

Naruto, turning to look out the window to seeing the sun falling below the tree line sighs and says - "I still have to go speak with the Hokage. I promised Itachi-sensei I would do so."

Seeing his unhappy expression, Anko remarks - "I take it you're not looking forward to it. Why not? I thought you and the old man were close?"

Naruto scowls as he pulls his cloak back on, saying - "That was before I knew how much the old bastard ruined my life. By revealing my jinchuuriki status to the village he basically damned me to a life of scorn and hatred. After I met the Kyuubi and it informed me of why it was inside me, all the crap in my life began to make sense; from the teachers sabotaging me in the academy to the civilians throwing me out of their stores with words of scorn directed at me. All of it can be laid at his feet so forgive me if I'm not feeling charitable to the old fool."

Looking curious, Anko asks - "Are you going to tell him you know about Kyuubi?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto replies - "I'm not sure yet; we will see how the conversation goes. One thing is certain though; I'm going to make it clear that I'm not some happy-go-lucky fool that will bear the treatment of the villagers anymore."

With that final statement, Naruto shunshins away to what is sure to be an enlightening confrontation.

* * *

_**Meanwhile at the Hokage's office**_

Hiruzen was getting very worried; Itachi said that Naruto would be by to see him yet the day was nearly done and he had not. There was also the report that one of his agents had brought to him regarding a civilian man that appeared to have been assaulted by someone matching Naruto's description. The attached follow-up report filed by the hospital explains in detail how the man was electrocuted with large amounts of raiton chakra, enough to literally fry his nervous system almost to the point of complete shutdown. As it stands, it looks like the man will be kept in a medically induced coma until he heals and even then, he will have trouble moving for the rest of his life.

So yes, Hiruzen was very worried indeed. His worry only increased when he senses an immense chakra signature appear out of nowhere directly behind him. Spinning around, he notices a black cloaked figure crouched on the window sill staring at him. Stepping into the light, the figure lowers his hood and reveals the face of the blond that he was just thinking about.

* * *

_**With Naruto**_

Arriving at the Hokage Tower with his chakra signature suppressed as far as he was able to, Naruto extended his senses and found that even at the end of the day the tower was still full of people. Not wanting to make an entrance in such a crowd, Naruto turns his gaze upward and notices the open window to the Hokage's office.

Sighing in exasperation, Naruto silently leaps to the window sill and looks in on the old man that ruined his life. Seeing as he was unnoticed at the moment, due to the man being so lost in his thoughts, Naruto took the time to look at the man he once called jii-san. He was looking worried about something; what it was, he didn't care. It was only when he saw the Hokage pick up a document, his sharp eyes easily seeing how his name featured prominently that he became interested.

He felt a brief flare of amusement as he quickly realized that it was an incident report on the man he almost killed earlier today. Deciding to make his presence known, Naruto stops suppressing his chakra signature and watches as the Hokage spins around and regards him warily. Stepping forward into the light, he lowers his hood and turns his glacial gaze on the Hokage, saying - "It has been some time Hokage-sama."

The man relaxes and smiles slightly, saying - "It is good to see you Naruto-kun. Welcome back."

Naruto's gaze morphs into a contemptuous glare and with his tone reflecting his expression, he says - "Some welcome I received when I found out the parasites you call your people still bear the same hatred towards me. It seems they even destroyed my home while I was gone. You would not happen to know anything about that, would you Hokage-sama?"

The Hokage's smile disappears at hearing the contempt in his voice and he says sadly - "Yes, I knew. I tried to save what I could, but when I found out, the building was already destroyed. The civilians wouldn't spend the money to repair it either. I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but-"

"Save your apologies old man. I have no need for them." - Naruto interjects with a fierce scowl on his face.

Hiruzen's mood falls even further into sadness as he says - "It's true then, you have changed. What happened Naruto-kun?"

Naruto sneers and says - "I had my eyes opened to the corruption inside this village during my time away and now being back has only reaffirmed my beliefs. It has only been one day and already these parasites point and whisper hateful words when they think I cannot hear them. They glare and spit at my very presence. One drunken fool even had the nerve to attack me, but he learned his lesson."

Hiruzen frowns at that and interjects, saying - "Yes I received the report on it. Did you have to go so far Naruto? You nearly killed that man!"

Naruto snarls and angrily says - "He deserved it. He is the one who struck first, so I struck back with no mercy."

Shaking his head, the Hokage asks - "But why did you go so far? He was only drunk, he did not deserve the treatment that you put him through."

Pacing angrily, Naruto explains - "Don't you get it? That imbecile in the hospital is my message to these idiots in the village. I will no longer be content to sit and take the abuse the heap on me anymore; if they act against me, I will not hold back!"

Standing angrily, the Hokage shouts - "I cannot just allow you to attack the citizens of this village Naruto!"

Matching his tone, Naruto retorts - "Then make it clear to those villagers of yours that they are not to act on their misplaced hatred! I know the laws very well Sarutobi; all civilians are prohibited from attacking the shinobi and if they do, the shinobi is allowed to retaliate in any manner he or she sees fit to do so."

Hiruzen slumps back into his chair in defeat at this statement, knowing it is true. Soon the office falls into silence; Naruto still glaring and Hiruzen with his head clasped in his hands. Gazing sadly at Naruto, he asks pleadingly - "How did it come to this Naruto-kun? Did you always feel this way? What did I do to earn such hatred from you?"

Naruto, in spite of himself, cannot help but feel pity for the old man he once admired. Calming down, he decides to reveal the truth and says in a bitter tone - "I think you know _very_ well where you went wrong Hokage-sama."

This sentence is said while Naruto places his hand over his stomach above the seal. This gesture is not missed by Hiruzen whose eyes widen and he looks at Naruto in question, who nods showing that he is in fact aware of what he contains.

With a voice heavy with guilt, he says - "You are referring to me informing the village of your jinchuuriki status. How did you find out?"

Knowing he had to answer this carefully, he says - "Between seeing a seal appear on my stomach every time I mould chakra and all the books on various subjects that Itachi-sensei made me read and it was pretty easy to figure it out once I put all the pieces together."

It was a lie, of course, but a good one that the Hokage seemed to accept judging by his nod.

Sighing deeply, Hiruzen says - "This is not what I had in mind for our discussion tonight Naruto-kun. It has been a long day, for the both of us. Why don't you take some time to relax and get settled into the village again and we can talk again in a few days."

As Naruto nods and prepares to leave, Hiruzen remembers that Naruto has no place to go and asks - "Do you need a place to stay Naruto-kun? With your apartment out of commission, I'm sure we can let you stay in a spare room at the Sarutobi compound."

Shaking his head with a smile, the first one Hiruzen sees since his return, Naruto says - "No, I recently ran into an old friend and she has graciously allowed me to stay at her place. She seems to be in a similar situation as I am, in terms of being shunned in this village. Regardless, I was pleased to see her again."

Curious and hopeful, Hiruzen asks - "Who is it Naruto-kun and where is this place?"

Turning away, Naruto responds - "Anko Mitariashi; she and I were friends back in the orphanage when we were younger. I'm staying inside the tower in training ground 44 with her. If you need me, you can find me there."

As Naruto disappears in his crow shunshin, Hiruzen cannot help but grow hopeful and think - _'So you have not been completely lost to darkness. I believe we have found your mentor Naruto-kun.'_

* * *

**EDIT 1/19/2017:** This chapter has been revised and new content added.


	4. Descent into Darkness

**Part 1**

**Introduction Arc**

**Chapter 3 - Descent into Darkness**

_**Tower Roof - Forest of Death**_

It has been two months since Naruto's return to the village and things have been going as well as could be expected after so many changes lately. Naruto, currently dressed in black shinobi clothing and a hooded cloak, stood with his arms crossed over his chest and his hood shadowing his face as he stared out at the village beyond the boundaries of his home slowly disappearing as the sun set behind the mountain, pondering the events that have occurred since his return.

First, was the second talk he had with the Hokage.

* * *

_Flashback_

_It had been three days since he gave the Hokage his ultimatum and from what Anko tells him, the village has heard his message loud and clear. After the initial protest that was immediately crushed when it was proven the now comatose man had instigated the conflict, all they could do was grumble. But it had served its purpose; the villagers now feared him which Naruto thought was a very nice change. Yes, it gave him no small amount of amusement to walk the streets now and see the worms that used to glare and shout now tremble and cower at his very presence._

_Now he was on his way to the Hokage's office to finish the talk they started the day he arrived back in the village. As he walked through the village at a leisurely pace, watching the civilians cower and the ninja tense as he passed them, Naruto felt something bump into his leg. A glance down revealed it to be a ball. _

_Picking up the object he turns in the direction it came from which reveals a small group of children around six years old. They were definitely fearful when they saw who had their ball. No doubt due to their parents warning their children who he was and to be careful of him. _

_The area was quiet now, with the villagers worried about what he might do. Slowly walking over to the eldest one, a girl with large green eyes and brown hair in a small ponytail, he looks into her terrified gaze locked on his own shadowed face partially hidden by the hood of his cloak. Holding out the ball, Naruto asks - "Is this your ball child?"_

_The girl shakily nods and slowly moves to take the ball. Naruto lets her and as soon as his hand is free, he moves it towards the girl, making the surrounding villagers tense in fear, but he only pats the girl on the head and says - "Try not to lose it again, do you understand?"_

_The girl nods and shakily says - "Um, yes Uzumaki-san. Thank you."_

_Removing his hand, the girl quickly moves back to the group but not before turning around and giving a shy wave. Naruto only gives a small nod and resumes his walk towards the tower, not knowing that a pleased Hokage who was watching the blond with his crystal ball had seen the whole thing._

_The fox then decides to make his presence known and ask - __**"Why did you not retaliate boy? I thought you hated these people."**_

_Shaking his head mentally, Naruto replies - "My soul is dark and full of hate, but I am not yet so heartless as to strike a child undeservedly."_

_The fox scoffs but says nothing further to which Naruto decides to speed things up and shunshins away. Upon arriving directly in the Hokage's office, he noticed an ANBU already there with the Hokage; one with a familiar spiky purple hairstyle and snake mask over her face. Naruto gives her a nod of acknowledgment before facing the Hokage, asking - "Why have you summoned me Hokage-sama?"_

_After wincing almost unnoticeably at the carefully blank tone, Hiruzen responds - "I have come to a decision to your placement in the shinobi ranks. I have given this much thought since you left the last time we spoke and I have come to a decision I think you will be content with."_

_Nodding in curiosity, the whiskered teen motions the Hokage to continue, which he does saying - "Taking into account your skill level and current mindset, I have decided to grant you a place in the ANBU Black Ops under an apprenticeship program."_

_Naruto smirks in satisfaction, having been concerned the old man was going to try and place him into some genin squad in order to try and get him to interact with the villagers and hopefully grant them forgiveness or some other foolishness that he would never have consented to. Deciding to get the obvious question out of the way, he asks - "What does the apprenticeship program entail?"_

_Relieved at Naruto's easy acceptance, the Hokage explains - "It is an old program; one definitely not used often and only once in recent times. Basically, it is used when someone who has the correct mindset, but not the level of strength needed to be a full time member, is assigned a mentor, usually a senior agent, who will then train you for a certain period of time. After that time period lapses, you will then undergo a strict series of tests to determine if you are ready to become a full member of the ANBU corps."_

_Nodding in understanding, Naruto motions to Anko and asks - "Am I to assume due to my familiarity with Anko, she is going to be my mentor?"_

_The female ANBU staggers and then slouches, taking off her mask to reveal the pouting face of Anko who asks - "How did you know who I was Gaki?"_

_Naruto allows a smile of amusement to cross his face as he says - "It might have something to do with the fact I saw your ANBU gear among the mess you call your room when you showed it to me the other day."_

'_Not to mention that she often walks around in just her mesh shirt and skirt in the tower and makes no effort to hide her ANBU tattoo.' - Naruto adds mentally._

_Hiruzen palms his face in exasperation as Anko scratches the back of her head sheepishly and says - "Uh, oops?"_

_Turning back to the Hokage, Naruto asks - "While I have no objections to this arrangement, I wonder why would you do this for me? I was expecting you to try and put me in some genin squad considering my age."_

_The Hokage scrutinizes Naruto for a minute before he sighs and says seriously - "I'm going to be honest Naruto-kun; you have shown too many psychopathic tendencies since your return to place you in a normal squad and I see this as a way to give you an outlet for them while at the same time keeping you out of the public eye of the village. I'm hoping Anko can teach you control and help you be able to function as a productive member of the village."_

_Naruto narrows his eyes at the explanation that basically says he is dangerous and needs to be watched, but after a few minutes thought he deems it a fair trade-off to be out of the spotlight in the village._

_The blond, with his face still seemingly carved from ice, coldly says - "I accept."_

_End Flashback_

* * *

Another event was finally meeting Anko's friends about a week after that talk with Hokage.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Naruto stood aching and drenched in sweat and blood after another grueling training session. Feeling the burn as the Kyuubi's chakra heals his body he decides to have a soak in the onsen. Returning to his room, he strips off his sweaty clothes before making his way to the bathing area where he quickly scrubbed himself free of the sweat and blood that stuck to his body. After rinsing himself free of the soap, he grabs a towel and throws it over his shoulder without a care for his modesty and opens the door to the onsen only to find it occupied by Anko and two other, admittedly beautiful women, all completely naked and enjoying the heat from the onsen._

_Hearing the door open, two of the women start in surprise with Anko only chuckling at a soon to be amusing situation. Upon seeing Naruto, also completely naked walk into the room completely uncovered, the two yell in surprise and duck into the water to hide their bodies while sending a fairly impressive killing intent at Naruto._

_Raising an eyebrow at their reaction and the surprisingly large amount of killing intent directed at him, he couldn't help but remark - "That is an impressive killing intent you two are directing at me. However judging by your reaction to my presence, I can assume that Anko neglected to inform you of our arrangement, likely so this very situation would occur. Am I right, Anko?"_

_The two women's eyes widen and turn to Anko who is wearing a 'who, me?' expression that does not fool anyone. A small splash is heard as Naruto enters the onsen. He then takes a moment to get comfortable before calmly saying - "Before you two come to the wrong conclusion, let me just inform you that I am not here to indulge in some perverse activity; I am simply here to relax after my training. So you might as well relax as well; Anko is a lot less modest than you two, so it is not like I have not seen the female form in a less than fully clothed state before."_

_The two women look at each other and slowly rise out of the water again. While ignoring the pouting Anko, the black haired one asks in a soft voice still tinged with aggravation - "While you need no introduction Uzumaki-san, may I ask what this arrangement you and Anko have is?"_

_Naruto, despite his words is still only a teenager and cannot help but stare for a second or two before looking at her face, trying to ignore the blood rushing to his lower extremities. Having noticed his brief perusal, the two women began to look angry before Naruto reassured them - "Forgive me Kunoichi-sans, but I am still a teenager and not yet in control of my body in such situations, I mean no offense. Now if you don't mind, you already know who I am, but I'm afraid I don't have the same luxury. Anko only told me she had a couple friends come here occasionally, but did not tell me your names."_

_The two shoot another look at Anko before turning back to Naruto with the purple haired woman saying - "My name is Uzuki Yugao, Uzumaki-san."_

_Naruto nods and turns to the black haired one who says - "My name is Yuhi Kurenai, Naruto-san."_

_Nodding again, Naruto says - "A pleasure to meet you both, forgive me for not bowing, but I'm afraid my reaction to your nudity is making itself known and I do not wish to offend you."_

_Anko chuckles and says - "No need to be shy Gaki, Nai-chan and Yugao-chan need to loosen up. Don't let them stop you." _

_Yugao and Kurenai shoot a sharp look at Anko even as they blush at her crude remarks. To their relief however, Naruto only looks vaguely amused as he shakes his head and subtly moves so his now stiff manhood stays hidden below the water._

_Naruto, deciding that the tension had been sufficiently dispelled, answers the question that Yugao and Kurenai posed before - "As to my arrangement, Anko-neechan was kind enough to open her home to me, seeing as my previous home was destroyed by the villagers during my absence from the village. I am now living with her and I am grateful for it as I don't have much interaction with the villagers anymore, due to the isolated location of this place."_

_Flashback End_

* * *

The four spent some time getting to know each other and pretty soon they began to get along reasonably well. They still occasionally stop by the tower to see Anko, but they also take the time to try and talk with him as well. However, Naruto was not very interested in being all buddy-buddy with the two women like Anko was, so he was not very receptive. The only thing that he found them useful for was helping him with his training, especially Yugao who had got him interested in kenjutsu.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Naruto was walking through the upper levels of the tower, heading toward his usual training area when his ears picked up the sound of metal striking metal. Curious, he decided to deviate from his current path to the source of the sound. Upon arriving at the correct room, he entered to see Yugao currently sparring against a few kage bunshin using nothing but a sword._

_Naruto was instantly entranced as he watched the sword user fight against three opponents at once, locked in a deadly dance where the slightest misstep could spell her doom at the hands of her own clones. It was amazing to him. As he made no effort to hide his presence, Yugao quickly noticed him and ended the spar. _

_Seeing the blond's mesmerized expression on his usually expressionless face, Yugao chuckles and asks - "I take it you are interested in kenjutsu Uzumaki-san?"_

_Naruto quickly realizes that he is still staring and shakes himself out of his stupor and says - "That was very impressive Yugao-san and yes I am very much interested."_

_Yugao, who sees the opportunity to get to know Anko's mysterious little brother figure, decides to offer - "Would you like me to show you a few things Uzumaki-san?"_

_Naruto adopts an excited grin that shows off his larger than average canines and nods._

_Flashback End_

* * *

That small introduction instilled a zeal in Naruto that he had not felt since the beginning of his training with Itachi and he began to learn kenjutsu like he was born to wield a blade. Yugao, seeing the raw potential that he had, started coming around more often to give him kenjutsu lessons and making sure to leave plenty of scrolls on the subject for him to read when she left.

Naruto soon began focusing on his kenjutsu and practiced every technique he could find for many hours each day with an occasional spar with Yugao to judge his progress. This lead to Naruto now wearing a sword he found in the armory at his waist.

In addition to his kenjutsu, Naruto's own training with Anko was going very well, much better than it ever was with Itachi. Both Naruto and Anko were of very similar mindsets, meaning aggressive, ruthless and unmerciful, so they meshed very well together. Itachi was just too much of a pacifist for his tastes, one of the few things that annoyed him about his former sensei. Speaking of which, Naruto had not once seen the stoic Uchiha since his return, having only received a scroll from a messenger crow saying that he had urgent clan business to take care of and to apologize that he had to leave him so abruptly.

After reading it he could not help but feel a slight pang of hurt before he ruthlessly crushed it and the scroll. The Kyuubi had pointed out to him that all Naruto ever was to Itachi was a mission to complete; he never truly cared about him. Naruto could see that Kyuubi was probably right, but some part of him, the little boy that looked up to Itachi as an older brother, did not want to believe it and held on to his hope that Kyuubi was wrong.

Naruto's days were quickly becoming routine. He would wake up, eat a nutrient rich meal, spend all morning practicing his kenjutsu and personal techniques then eat a small lunch and then spend his afternoon training with Anko and occasionally Yugao when she had breaks from her ANBU duties, then after the day was done, he would relax in the onsen, go eat a filling dinner to recover his energy and then meditate on the roof of the tower for several hours before going to sleep.

Bringing himself back to the present moment, Naruto resumed his meditation, another thing he had taken to doing in an effort to keep his bloodlust from overwhelming him. Breathing deeply, he began bring up all his negative emotions, his hate, rage and fury, letting them fill him up as it always did; first it starts as a spark, then that spark becomes a flame and that flame becomes an inferno. A well of power, barely contained threatens to break free as Naruto struggles to control it.

The ground around him starts shaking and the wind starts burning as Naruto begins to lose control.

His eyes snapping open Naruto mentally screams - _'NO! I WILL MASTER THIS! I REFUSE TO LOSE CONTROL!'_

With a bestial growl, Naruto slowly begins to exert his will over the now swirling maelstrom of chakra around him, drawing it back into him bit by bit. The exertion is easily shown on Naruto's face and body during this process. Every muscle is clenched and straining, veins stand out on his neck and temples, his teeth are clenched and sweat is freely pouring down his face; but through it all, Naruto perseveres and soon the storm raging around him begins to calm until eventually it disappears completely.

Clenching his fists until they begin to bleed, Naruto shouts out and punches the ground in frustration at his failure - "Damn it! I'm getting better, but I still can't control it completely!"

Utterly drained, Naruto slowly climbs to his feet and makes his way down to his bedroom to rest. Unknown to him due to his exhaustion, someone had been watching almost the entire spectacle.

In the shadows of the forest, a pair of three-tomoe sharingan morphed into a pinwheel shape before fading away into the darkness.

_'Goodbye Naruto-kun.'_

* * *

_**Later that night**_

A loud roar that only Naruto could hear startled him from his sleep saying - _**"Wake up boy!"**_

Jumping out of bed with his sword at the ready, an instantly awake and alert Naruto scans his immediate area for threats before relaxing and asking - _'What is it that requires you to disturb my rest Kyuubi?'_

The deep voice snarls before saying - _**"Insolent boy, you will speak to me with respect. I will disturb your rest if I deem it necessary. Now stretch out with your senses to the village and tell me what you feel."**_

Knowing it was pointless to argue, Naruto focused his chakra and began searching for what had the Kyuubi so agitated.

_'I don't sense any-'_

Naruto's eyes snap open in surprise as his senses reveal several chakra signatures in the village dying all at once, too many to be natural.

_'What is going on Kyuubi?' _\- Naruto asks urgently.

The great fox scoffs and says - _**"I don't know boy, but I suggest you go and see. This could be an excellent test for your strength against a real enemy."**_

Naruto's blood starts boiling in excitement at this statement and he quickly dresses and grabs his cloak and sword before vanishing towards the source of the disappearing signatures.

* * *

_**Outside the Uchiha District**_

Arriving silently at his destination, Naruto is immediately hit with the strong scent of blood in the air. Channeling chakra into his eyes, he can see that there are several bodies lying in the street; some impaled with kunai and shuriken, others slashed by a bladed weapon of some sort.

Naruto gives a feral grin as he surveys the carnage with gleeful eyes.

_'So, somebody is massacring the Uchiha clan, how very interesting.' _\- Naruto cackles mentally.

Kyuubi remarks with its voice dripping in satisfaction - _**"I have waited a long time to see this. Ever since Madara Uchiha enslaved me with that infernal sharingan, I have desired nothing more than to see the his wretched clan fall."**_

_'Well then, why don't we get a closer look at this mystery assassin's handiwork and if we are lucky the assassin might still be here.'_

After this thought Naruto, with the Kyuubi's help, suppresses his chakra down as far as it will go, much further than he would have been able without the Kyuubi's help and makes his way into the bloody district towards the nearest active chakra signature.

* * *

_**With Itachi**_

"You are not even worth killing, foolish little brother." - Itachi says even as his heart is breaking.

Stepping forward and making sure that Sasuke sees the mangekyo sharingan spinning in his eyes, he says - "If you wish to kill me, foster your hatred and despise me until one day you come before me with the same eyes as I. Until then keep on surviving in an unsightly manner as this. Now go and flee; cling to your wretched life."

Sasuke says nothing as he tries to run, but only falls over in exhaustion, his brain shutting down to cope with the trauma it endured. A tear falls down his face as he watched his little brother's eyes close. Itachi prepares to flee before he feels an immense killing intent appear out of nowhere.

Spinning around, Itachi quickly identifies a figure shrouded in the shadows of the moonlight, making only his silhouette visible. The figure jumps down into the flickering torchlight to reveal his former apprentice with an enraged look on his face.

* * *

_**With Naruto**_

Naruto's eyes blaze with hatred and the feeling of betrayal settles deep inside him as he sees his former sensei. Growling ferally, Naruto says - "So, after all that preaching on the Will of Fire, your love for your family and the village, this is what it comes to."

Itachi says nothing; his mind is feverishly working to figure a way out of this now dangerous situation. He may be stronger than Naruto usually, but he was exhausted from killing his clan. Not to mention his eyes were burning from his use of the mangekyo sharingan.

Glaring right into Itachi's face, Naruto asks - "Tell me Itachi, was any of it real? All the praise, trust and pride that you showed me during my time with you; was it all a lie?"

Itachi, knowing he cannot break his cover, only stares at him with that infuriating stoic look on his face before responding - "Yes, it was. I care nothing for you Naruto. You were a mission to complete, the weapon I was meant to forge. But you were a failure; I never counted on the darkness you harbor in your heart. You will never willingly be Konoha's weapon, you despise the village too much."

Naruto's head fell with each sentence pouring from his mouth, his shoulders started shaking. "So, the truth is finally revealed." - Naruto whispers in a deadly voice.

Slowly, the air started to shimmer and a blood red chakra began to permeate the air bringing with it an oppressive feeling that the village of Konoha had not felt for almost fourteen years.

Itachi only had a moment to see Naruto's red eyes before he vanished in a blur of speed he could barely track even with his activated sharingan. Quickly bringing up his ANBU tanto he blocked a katon chakra infused sword strike that would have decapitated him. However, in his exhaustion, Itachi was unable to block the follow up strike to his calf that almost drove him to his knees.

_'This is bad, I have to stop him before the feeling of Kyuubi's chakra can spread to the rest of the village.'_

With this thought, Itachi engaged Naruto in a fierce kenjutsu duel; each one striking each other half a dozen times in the space of a few seconds. Naruto's skill with the sword was proving superior to Itachi's however, who preferred to fight with ninjutsu and illusions. He was like a storm raining down on Itachi. Above, below, left, right, in front, behind; Naruto kept unleashing blow after blow that Itachi, who in his exhaustion could only barely keep up with thanks to his sharingan. Not to mention the fact that without him reinforcing his tanto with chakra, it would have long since been destroyed by Naruto's katon chakra infused blade.

_'He has progressed so far in such a short amount of time. His skill in kenjutsu is astounding for someone who only took it up recently.' _\- Itachi thought during the fierce exchange.

Keeping his sharingan fixed on Naruto's sword, observing the massive amount of katon running through it. Despite the life or death situation, he could not help the surge of pride when he observed the very visible effect, causing the blade to grow white hot with a red corona surrounding it.

Lashing out with a kick, Itachi managed to create some distance between them before he instantly flies through a series of hand seals and calls - "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

The fireball flies toward the blond at incredible speed. Still airborne from the kick, Naruto quickly forms a cross hand seal and calls out – "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" and a single clone appears a small distance away to which Naruto substitutes with, letting the clone take the hit.

Rushing forward, Naruto sends a stream of lightning flying towards Itachi then blurs behind him he can attack him on two sides at once. Itachi only barely manages to bring up an earth wall to block the lightning and bring up his tanto to block Naruto's fierce overhand strike. He quickly realizes his mistake in trying to block instead of redirect when the sheer force of the impact almost breaks Itachi's wrist due to Naruto's physical strength being much greater than his own.

Despite the Uchiha's best efforts, Naruto's strength begins overwhelming his own and he can only watch as Naruto's sword slowly but surely makes its way closer to Itachi's throat. With the blond's murderous red eyes gazing into his own, Itachi performs a desperate move and head buts Naruto, breaking his nose and causing his concentration to falter for a split second. That is enough however, for Itachi to back away and gain some distance.

Panting heavily, Itachi thinks - _'If this continues I will lose the fight and as far gone as Naruto is; it will mean my death.'_

Itachi watches as Naruto recovers and takes a moment to prepare himself for the coming pain and thinks –_ 'It seems I have no choice.'_

Itachi decided to meet Naruto's next charge with his own and forced him into a blade lock. The Uchiha then channeled a large amount of chakra to his eyes, which begin to leak blood even as the tomoe morph into the pinwheel shape of his mangekyo sharingan. Naruto, so lost in his rage does not even register the threat as he continues to stare murderously straight into Itachi's eyes.

Kyuubi, who had been observing the battle, recognized the danger in the eyes Itachi now displayed and tried to warn his jinchuuriki - _**"DO NOT LOOK INTO THOSE EYES BOY!" **_

The fox's warning breaks through the fog of Naruto's rage but it is too late. With a strained voice, Itachi whispers - "Tsukuyomi"

And Naruto's world fell into darkness.

* * *

_**Three Days Later**_

Naruto slowly came back into awareness feeling an intense pain in his head. Slowly, he opened his eyes to the sight of a white ceiling.

_'Where am I?'_

As his eyes adjusted to the bright light, Naruto looked around his room and came to the conclusion that he was in the hospital. Looking down at himself revealed that he was clad only in a pair of white trouser shorts. Looking around for his clothes, Naruto notices his sword leaning against a table on the other side of the room as well as his clothes folded neatly on top of the table. Naruto shakes his head and tries to get his thoughts in order.

_'How did I get here? Last thing I remember is...'_

In a flash it all returned, Itachi; he fought him and lost.

_**"That's right you lost you idiot boy! That blasted Uchiha confirmed everything that I've ever told you about him and you immediately lost control and attacked him like a wild animal! Your foolishness could have cost us everything!" **_\- Kyuubi roared in his mind, adding to his already splitting headache.

Naruto winces and presses a palm against his head, trying to relieve the pressure. He is however saved from responding by the arrival of the Hokage, who no doubt was informed the second he woke up.

"How are you feeling Naruto-kun?" - The elderly Hokage asks kindly.

"I'm alive, that is sufficient enough." - Naruto responds shortly while looking down at the bed with his longer hair shadowing his eyes.

Hiruzen sighs, saying - "Fine then, I'll get straight to the point. We found you collapsed in the Uchiha district surrounded by bodies in an almost comatose state that seems to be the result of some extraordinarily powerful genjutsu. You have been unconscious for three days and I need to know what happened."

Naruto lays back into the bed with a sigh, but explains all the same - "Something drew me out of my rest during the night and-"

"By something, I will assume that means the Kyuubi told you." - Hiruzen interjects pointedly.

Naruto's face betrays his surprise only for a second, but the Hokage caught it and explains - "I know the Kyuubi is active inside of you now. During our investigation of the Uchiha district, we found traces of the Kyuubi's chakra in the air; not enough to be felt by the village, but enough to guess there was a battle of some sort, which is probably what stirred the Kyuubi from its dormant state."

Naruto nods at the explanation, choosing not to correct the Hokage's assumption and resumes his explanation saying – "Fine yes, the Kyuubi woke me up and told me to stretch out my senses. Upon doing so, I noticed several active chakra signatures disappearing all at once. Deciding to investigate, I made my way to the source which turned out to be the Uchiha district."

Scowling in remembrance, Naruto continues, saying – "I found Itachi just after he was finished with his little brother. We exchanged words and I decided to attack him using the Kyuubi's chakra, figuring I could get the drop on him and for a while it worked. I was winning the battle, however I lost focus. The last thing I can remember is hearing Itachi call out some technique, Tsukuyomi I believe and then I woke up here. That's it."

After hearing Naruto's explanation, Hiruzen turns away with a look of despair on his face saying – "It is as I feared then; Itachi has gone rogue."

Naruto curiously asks – "Do you know what prompted this Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen pulls the tip of his Hokage hat over his eyes, as he says – "No I don't Naruto-kun; I wish I did."

"_**The old man is lying." **_– Kyuubi interjects.

'_What makes you think that?'_ – Naruto mentally asks in surprise while keeping his expression unchanged so as not to draw the attention of the Hokage.

"_**I can sense negative emotions boy. When he said he did not know why the Uchiha went rogue, his heartbeat changed and I felt a large surge of guilt coming from him. This is indicative of a lie. Meaning, he does know why the Uchiha did what he did and he feels guilty about it." **_– Kyuubi answers in a voice of absolute certainty.

'_So, yet more secrets are being kept from me. I don't know why I'm surprised. It seems I truly cannot trust anyone in this village.' _– Naruto snarls mentally, much to the Kyuubi's excitement.

'_**It's nearly time; one final push should do it.' **_– Kyuubi thinks with a sinister chuckle.

Deciding he needed to get out of here before he let something slip, Naruto asks – "Am I free to leave Hokage-sama?"

This question jerks Hiruzen out of his thoughts as he sends a surprised look at Naruto and asks – "So soon Naruto? You just woke up from three day coma, you need time to rest."

Naruto shakes his head in disagreement and responds – "No, I feel fine and I want to leave. However, if you insist on me resting, I can do it at the tower. I would not be able to truly rest while I am here due to the presence of the villagers. You never know when some disgruntled doctor will try to take advantage of my weakened state."

Sighing in resignation, the Hokage says – "Fine, go; but I expect you to take it easy for a few days and work on recovering your strength before you begin any intense training."

Fully intending to disregard the advice, Naruto nevertheless nods in acknowledgment so that he can get back to the tower and away from the villagers faster. The Hokage sighs and leaves, no doubt heading back to his office. After pulling on his clothes and sword, Naruto shunshins away.

* * *

_**Tower – Forest of Death**_

Arriving back at the tower, he storms his way straight through the tower to his room, barely giving a nod of acknowledgment to Anko along the way so lost was he in his building rage.

The Kyuubi, sensing Naruto was at his breaking point, decided to make his move and says - _**"Come to the mindscape boy. There is something you must know."**_

Scowling, the blond heads to his room and latches the door shut. Sitting down on the floor with his legs and arms crossed, he closes his eyes and enters his mindscape to see what was so important. Upon hearing the splashing water, Naruto opens his eyes to reveal the sight of the sewer like mindscape. Following the now familiar red glow, the blond arrives at the Kyuubi's chamber and asks - "So what is so important Kyuubi?"

Disregarding the question, the Kyuubi adopts a curious expression as he says - **"Tell me boy, how do you feel about the village now?"**

Frowning deeply, Naruto retorts - "What the hell does that have to do with anything Kyuubi? You said there was something I needed to know; now tell me."

The fox snarls and growls - **"Answer the question boy, now!"**

Frustrated, Naruto blurts out - "Damn it fox, Konoha is my home and I will fight to protect it alright!"

_._

_._

_._

_'Wait...'_

Flabbergasted, Naruto asks - "What? What did I just say?"

Looking at the fox that has a curiously blank expression on its face, Naruto frantically asks - "What the hell fox? Why do I suddenly feel this way? What is going on?"

**"It is as I feared then. It seems I was unable to completely negate the technique." **\- Kyuubi rumbles out.

Looking sharply at the fox, Naruto demands - "What are you talking about? Tell me!"

Bringing its massive head down so the enormous crimson eye was level with the teen, the Kyuubi asks - **"Use your head boy; you were unconscious for three days! Vulnerable in enemy territory! Did you think no one would try to take advantage?"**

Naruto's fury starts to boil, as he responds - "No; I would be foolish if I thought that. Do you mean to tell me something happened?"

The great fox nods and while smiling evilly, it asks - **"Would you like me to show you what happened? Would you like to see how far this village will go to keep you under control?"**

A sick feeling building in his gut, Naruto nods and does not resist as Kyuubi brings a tip of one of its tails through the bars of the cage and presses it to the center of Naruto's forehead.

**"Know the truth Naruto and break through the fog of lies that this village has created around you." **\- Kyuubi says before a memory starts playing in front of his eyes.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Naruto opens his eyes to see himself lying in the hospital bed motionlessly. Watching anxiously for what is to happen, his sharp ears pick up the sound of wood tapping on concrete, growing closer and closer to his room._

_Tap_

_Tap_

_Tap_

_Tap_

_The door opens revealing an elderly man with spiky black hair and dark skin carrying a cane. The man is heavily bandaged with his face bearing an x shaped scar on his chin. This man is Shimura Danzo, one of the military advisors on the village council and the secret leader of ROOT. Naruto recognized him easily as Itachi's warnings flashed through his mind._

_His lone brown eye stares at the jinchuuriki as he makes his way to the blond's bedside and begins speaking._

"_You are dangerous Uzumaki; angry and rebellious are not good traits for the village weapon. I may not be able to take you now, but I can still force you to submit to the purpose you were made for."_

_The man pulls away the bandages around his right eye, revealing a mangekyo sharingan in the shape of a four bladed shuriken. Standing over the unconscious jinchuuriki, he forces open the blond's eye and gazes directly into it with the sharingan._

"_You will protect Konoha, whether you want to or not. __Kotoamatsukami__."_

_End Flashback_

* * *

The memory fades and Naruto returns to the present time in his mindscape, which quickly starts shaking as Naruto's rage peaks.

"THAT BASTARD TRIED TO PLACE A MIND CONTROLLING GENJUTSU ON ME!" - Naruto roars in absolute fury as he begins to furiously pace back and forth around the chamber.

"**Yes he did and he would have succeeded if not for my presence. That particular technique is usually impossible to break. It is only because of your strong will and my presence here negating some of the effects are you able to notice it." **\- Kyuubi explains in a knowing voice to which Naruto only snarls in response.

Kyuubi, knowing the moment had finally arrived, says the words that will bind the boy to it forever. Adopting the same voice it repeatedly used to tempt him previously, the one that radiated the promise of power, it says - **"You see Naruto, this village will never change. They will forever see you as a weapon and nothing more. You must break the chains that bind you to this place. I can help you do that." **

Kyuubi pauses to let its statement sink in and continues - **"You know what I ask Naruto. Pledge yourself to me and I will make you stronger than anyone in this pathetic village. Embrace your inner darkness and I will train you in all that I know; more than enough to make the worms in this pathetic village tremble at your feet."**

Naruto stops and looks at his trembling hands, saying - "You are the only one who has been completely truthful to me in my life. Everything you said about my sensei, this village, all of it has turned out to be truth. I am _tired _of being manipulated by this village."

Clenching his fists, Naruto looks up at the great fox and kneels, saying - "I pledge myself to your teachings."

The fox, not wanting to seem to eager, lest the boy be suspicious, warns the blond by saying - **"Be warned Naruto, this will be unlike anything you have undertaken. I will not go easy on you nor will I show mercy. You will either succeed; or you will die."**

Naruto's resolve does not falter at the warning. He only raises his head allowing the Kyuubi to see the indomitable will in his gaze and says - "My answer remains the same, I accept."

"**Good. Then leave my presence and get some rest; for tomorrow your training begins."**

* * *

And begin it did; there was no slow start, no easing into it. Kyuubi immediately began working Naruto to the brink of collapse from the very first day and every day after. For the next two years, there was nothing but intense training designed to hone his body into perfection; for the Kyuubi would demand no less than that.

Every morning at dawn he would wake up, eat a calorie packed breakfast, meditate on the roof of the tower for three hours and then begin his morning workout. First he worked on building his strength and had a grueling regiment which consisted of 1000 push-ups, 1000 pull-ups, 500 sit-ups, 500 curls and 300 squats, all of it being done without chakra enhancement and often weighed down in some manner. Next he focused on his speed and endurance. During this time he ran many laps around the 44th training ground with only a few breaks in between them. Sometimes he ran using his legs, other times he ran on his hands and other times he would only use his fingers.

The end of his morning workout was dedicated to refining his sword technique. He did this by running through drills and sequences with each movement having to be perfect, otherwise he would be forced to stop and perform the same move over and over until it reached a level of perfection Kyuubi was satisfied with. At which point he would start the sequence over and not dare to repeat the mistake again before moving on to the next. It was constant repetition, with the same movements being done over and over to ingrain it into his muscle memory until he could run through an entire sequence in seconds without a single mistake.

Naruto's muscles ripped and tore constantly during this time, causing him excruciating pain that was only compounded when the Kyuubi used its chakra to heal the wounds enough so he could keep going. By the end of the morning workout, every single part of his body screamed in agony, from both the workout and Kyuubi's healing. It was torture, it was agony and it made Naruto hate the Kyuubi greatly. But that was good, because Naruto used his hate to make himself stronger. He nurtured it and tucked it away until he needed it, using it to rejuvenate his weary body during moments of exhaustion.

After a lunch to recover his energy, he spent the rest of the day on training and refining his use of chakra. It quickly became apparent that Naruto's control over his chakra was beyond atrocious. While he had incredible amounts of chakra, he had almost no control over it and the only reason he could do the things he could was due to the fact that he spent almost ten times the amount of chakra necessary to do it.

Kyuubi did not like that one bit and started mercilessly drilling Naruto in every chakra control exercise that it knew and demanded that he gain sufficient proficiency in them all. This was even more difficult than his morning workout and often left him nearly depleted of chakra, which considering the amount he had was quite a feat. It was only after two months of non-stop chakra control exercises that Naruto finally managed to bring his control into an acceptable range. This lead to the Kyuubi to direct him to began working on ways he could use his immense chakra capacity to his advantage.

Seeing as he did not have the control to perform normal ninjutsu beyond a few specialized techniques, Naruto and Kyuubi began working towards using it in a way that enhanced Naruto's martial prowess, such as combining his katon sword technique with chakra shape transformation. The project came from the knowledge of knowing swords could be broken, no matter how much chakra was forced into them. This project was their efforts to rid of that weakness.

Between Naruto's research into the sword used by the Nidaime and the Kyuubi's memories of the Yondaime's Rasengan technique that it had recalled seeing used against the Uchiha who controlled it during the battle that saw it sealed into Naruto, saw the technique that was born of this becoming Naruto's primary weapon.

Using a sword handle with the blade removed as a medium, Naruto drew on his massive chakra and molded it not into a sphere, like with the Rasengan, but into a cylinder and eventually a blade. This part of the technique was difficult enough due to his massive chakra and poor control; adding katon chakra into the mix made it damn near impossible. It took weeks of utilizing the Kage Bunshin's memory retrieval feature before the technique was completed.

The results were worth it however. With the technique now complete, Naruto was left with a blade of fire-infused chakra protruding from his specially commissioned sword hilt modeled after the famous _Raijin no Ken_ of the Nidaime Hokage. Taking the form of a straight blade instead of a curved one like most of the japanese katanas; the amount of chakra and heat causes it to glow white at the core with a red aura surrounding the immediate space around it. It was a magnificent technique that enabled his sword to cut through all but the strongest of materials and Naruto was very eager to try it on a living foe.

Naruto's meditation also took a turn for the better. It turned out the reason he was unable to manage his anger and bloodlust without loosing control was due to the fact that he was unconsciously drawing on the Kyuubi's bloodlust at the same time. Due to this, he simply caused the two to clash and fight for dominance; which is what caused his blood rages.

The Kyuubi told him the reason for this is that it's own bloodlust was too massive for him to control without intensive training; training that the Kyuubi would provide him. Every day he fought to master his own bloodlust; strengthening it, refining it, harnessing it, until the time came that his own bloodlust was comparable to the fox's.

This is when he started consciously drawing on the Kyuubi's bloodlust to augment his own, occasionally losing himself to the Kyuubi's bestial instincts when he was unable to keep it under control. Eventually however he was able to use the two simultaneously and without effort. This eventually refined itself to not needing any effort at all to call the two different bloodlusts and use them as one. The result of this 'synchronization training' manifested in his eyes glowing gold when his bloodlust made itself apparent.

Naruto's life as a ninja was not idle during this time either. While rare, Naruto did occasionally find some time away from Kyuubi's training to spar and train with Anko per the demands of his apprenticeship to her. And while he did not learn much from her anymore, seeing as Kyuubi's training made him pretty strong, Anko didn't care as she greatly enjoyed having someone to train and fight without having to hold back. It was near the middle of the second year that his apprenticeship ended and he was given the ANBU trials, which he of course passed with ease due to his training with Kyuubi making him high jonin in terms of strength and skill after one and a half years of constant training.

After passing his tests, Naruto was placed on Anko's squad; no doubt due to the machinations of the Hokage in an effort to keep him appeased and remove any temptation he might have to defect while away on a mission somewhere. Not that he would have left anyway, seeing as after his ANBU career began in earnest, he became almost content in his supposed duties to the village. He was always given a challenging mission, his squad never receiving anything below an A-Rank mission. It provided Naruto with many enemies to fight; some weak and some strong, but enemies all the same and Naruto relished every kill.

Through it all however, Naruto never lost sight of his goal; to become strong enough to show the village his might. While he was constantly tempted to just kill everyone, he knew that the time had not yet come for the village's reckoning. It was at Kyuubi's urging that Naruto decided to be patient and wait for the right opportunity to extract his vengeance. So he would continue waiting, all the while pretending to be loyal to his so-called village.

Little did the biju know that the loyalty his jinchuuriki held toward it would be tested soon and the darkness that was consuming the blond would soon be fighting against the spark of light remaining in him.

* * *

**EDIT 1/19/2017: **This chapter has been revised with new content added.


	5. A New Mission

**Part 1**

**Land of Waves Arc**

**Chapter 4 – A New Mission**

_**Forest Clearing**_

The stillness of the night was broken by the lights of multiple crackling fires illuminating a large bandit camp. It was a night of merriment if the clinking bottles, sizzling meats and drunken laughing were any indication. A look around the camp would reveal many carts looted from various caravans containing a variety of things like clothing, food, equipment and other goods. That however is not all these particular bandits take; on the other side of the camp we can hear the sounds of feminine crying and screaming as the bandits took their turns with the various women captured along with the merchant goods. It is this sight that Naruto, dressed in his ANBU gear and crow mask, looked upon with contempt.

Suddenly a voice buzzes in his ear, saying – "This is Cat, all agents report in."

A mischievous female voice calls over the radio – "Snake standing by."

Hearing his cue, Naruto raises his hand and pressing two fingers to the button on his neck and says – "Crow standing by."

Cat's voice, which Naruto knew to be Yugao, said – "All right everyone you know our mission. The primary objective is to rescue the hostages and eliminate the bandits. If possible, we are to find out why they are here. That means leaving at least one alive for interrogation."

Anko's voice chuckles over the radio and says – "Looking forward to it."

Naruto, fed up at the whole situation cannot help but ask – "Why are we here? This mission is a job for a chunin squad, not ANBU."

Anko's voice sighs in exasperation and snaps out – "You know very well why we are taking this mission Crow. Since Bear was injured during our last mission, he has not been able to perform his ANBU duties. That causes us to operate at a lower capacity, thus we cannot take anything higher than a B-rank until he heals or we get a new squad member."

Naruto growls and replies – "I told you it was not my fault that Bear got caught in the crossfire between me and that nuke-nin. I was doing just fine when he decided to interfere. How was I to know he was going to get into the path of my lightning? He has only himself to blame."

Yugao's voice cuts across the radio before an argument can starts and says – "Cut the chatter you two. Let's just get this mission done. Crow, you will go and eliminate the bandits with Snake. I will use the chaos to sneak in and free the hostages. Is this understood?"

The two call "hai" and Naruto hears the command he has been waiting for all night.

"Engage."

_**With Naruto**_

Hearing screams beginning to echo throughout the camp as Anko makes her presence known, he watches as the bandits begin to panic, not knowing where the enemy is.

"We're under attack!"

"What's going on?! Where are they?!"

"No, I don't want to die! Please mercy! ARRGH!"

The blond, with eyes glowing gold, gives a feral smile behind his mask as he jumps into the middle of the camp making no attempt to hide his presence and unleashes his killing intent on the crowd of soon to be dead bandits. The bandits immediately turn to the cloaked figure who landed in their midst while trembling in fear due to feeling a killing intent that is so immense, that even untrained civilians such as these bandits are able to feel it.

The masked blond, relishing in the terror he is inspiring, watches as one of the bandits musters his courage and charges him with a sword. Watching the bandit charge while screaming at him and sloppily holding the sword above his head, Naruto says only one word - "Pathetic."

Letting the bandit get close he sidesteps the sloppy overhand strike while unsheathing his chakra blade at the same time. Without pausing, Naruto smoothly brings the blade around and impales the bandit through the back into the heart and kills him instantly.

Letting the body fall, he raises his blade and charges into the fray, giving off a roar that seemed more fitting to be heard from a beast rather than a man. Screams of terror and pain began emanating from the camp as Naruto carved through their ranks with his blade slicing through arms, legs, necks and torsos like a hot knife through butter.

Knowing he had to find a bandit to capture for interrogation he makes his way towards the center of the camp, killing all he finds along the way, eventually meeting up with his team at the largest tent in the very middle of the camp.

"I have secured the hostages, all that is left is to capture the leader and take him back to Konoha for interrogation." - Cat informed them while holding her sword down to the side.

Snake then sarcastically says - "I assume that we will find said leader of these meat sacks in the biggest and most ostentatious tent, which is coincidentally this same tent we are looking at?"

Crow, tired of the pointless banter observes the ground near the entrance and notices a pair of trembling calves and feet become visible when the wind raises the canvas of the tent wall a little. Easily able to deduce that the leader is waiting to ambush them the very second they step into the entrance, he makes a 'tch' sound and activates his chakra blade and swipes it through the area he guesses the knees to be and is rewarded with the sound of a body falling to the ground while screaming in pain.

The squad steps into the tent and sees the supposed leader on the ground with his legs missing at the knee. There was only a little blood due to his blade cauterizing the wound due to its extreme heat. Stepping toward the still screaming bandit, Snake sarcastically asks - "I assume you're the one in charge of these bandits?"

The bandit doesn't answer due to him still screaming at which point he steps up and blasts him with lightning, causing him to scream even louder. He then yells - "Answer her scum!"

When a response was not immediately made, Naruto blasted him again, longer this time, until Cat subtly shifted as if to remind him of her presence. Growling lowly, he cuts off the lightning to wait for a response and gets one this time. Frantically nodding, the bandit yells out - "Yes! Yes! I'm the leader! Arrgh!"

Having the confirmation he needs and not wanting to waste any more time, Crow begins pressing more and more of his killing intent on to the shaking man until his mind blacks out from the pressure. Turning away dismissively, Crow makes his out of the tent to wait for his squad mates to prep the bandit for transport. When they appear in the tent entrance, he only utters a curt - "Let's go" and hops away to the trees.

_**Konoha – Early Morning**_

After arriving back in the village and turning in his mission Naruto decides to forgo his sleep in favor of beginning his daily training a few hours early. Quickly finishing his warm up Naruto then heads to one of the open training rooms and grabs a sword hanging on the rack. Standing in the middle of one of the larger sparring circles, he makes a cross hand seal and calls out – "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Five clones appear around him all holding swords at which point he asks mentally – _'What are today's stipulations Kyuubi-sama?'_

"**Today you continue working on sensing changes in the air currents around you and using them to identify threats. Blind yourself, you will fight them without using your sight once again."**

After sending a mental acknowledgement towards the fox; Naruto grabs a blindfold that lets in no light and ties it around his head after removing his upper layers leaving him clad only in his shinobi pants and sandals. Taking a deep breath, Naruto falls into the opening stance of his sword style.

Utterly still, Naruto stood ready, straining his remaining senses for any change around him. Hearing feet slide across a mat he cocks his head toward the sound and that is when the strike comes. Using the other clone's movement as cover another silently moves in and strikes towards him from behind. Spinning at the last second, Naruto dodges the blow and decapitates the attacker at which point all the other clones rush in.

Jumping above a strike a clone sends to impale him, he blocks another strike sent from above at the same time. Landing on the back of the impaling clone, he quickly swipes his blade across the spine, deep enough to sever it and leave an opponent paralyzed if they were real. With another one down he charges the next clone and engages it with a sharp series of strikes. Hearing another clone approach from the side he gives a kick to the one he's currently engaged with to gain a little distance. But no reprieve is given as the third of the other clones sneaks in and lands a glancing blow along the back of his shoulder causing him to grit his teeth in pain.

Feeling his anger well up he turns and savagely attacks the clone that wounded him, quickly overpowering it and swiping a lethal blow across the chest. Then, capitalizing on his distraction, another clone lands a kick on him sending Naruto flying back. Recovering quickly, he can feel more than hear the last two clones slowly circling him, stalking him like he was prey.

Drawing on his anger, Naruto can feel the adrenaline surge through his body, numbing his aches and pains. Holding his sword close and parallel to his body, he sends chakra into his legs for a swift charge to the remaining clones. After instantly closing the distance he brings the full force of his fury on the final two clones and lets his instincts guide him as he sends lightning fast swipes and jabs to them as he takes them on simultaneously, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

The three fight back and forth across the dueling ring for several minutes of lightning fast sword-play with the sound of low growls and metal clashing against metal to accompany them. Well into the ninth minute of the duel, his opportunity makes itself known. Sensing one clone overextend itself during a strike meant to take his head off, he ducks under and swipes his sword through its wrists and hears the signature 'poof' of a clone dissipating. Instantly spinning around to the clone who hesitated briefly after witnessing the other clone's destruction, he brings his sword straight down in a heavy strike before the clone can recover. The lethal strike lands and he hears the final clone dispel.

Breathing in deeply and letting it out, he sheathes his sword and relaxes his stance as he awaits the Kyuubi's verdict on his performance. Waiting in silence for several seconds he cannot help but get nervous before the menacing voice states – **"A barely adequate performance boy. Being deprived of sight makes you sloppy and dulls your reaction times; as proved by the strike that got through your defense. I will only accept this performance due to the fact that you were on a mission not two hours ago. But make no mistake boy, I demand perfection and we will practice this until you master it or the next time your clones land a killing blow, I will simply let you die."**

Giving a mental nod he replies – _'Yes Kyuubi-sama, I will endeavor to do better.'_

"**You better boy. Now go rest. We will continue this afternoon."**\- The fox sends as a final remark before surging its burning chakra through its host's body to heal his wounds.

Gritting his teeth in pain at the feel of the fox's chakra, he moves to return the sword to the practice rack and retrieve his clothes. Intending to follow his orders, he begins making his way to the entrance with the intention being to go and sleep for a few hours in his room. As he passes through the entrance way, he notices Yugao leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and a serious look on her face.

Feeling his anger begin to rise once again, he pins his dark blue eyes on her and frostily asks – "What do you want Yugao?"

Unnerved as always at the feeling of his dark presence, she does not let it show as she says – "That was an impressive performance Uzumaki. I can see you are improving. Perhaps-"

"Get to the point Yugao, I don't have any desire to indulge you right now." – Naruto interjects rudely. He has little patience for these interactions on the best of days but now in his exhaustion he just cannot bring himself to care at all.

Irritation shows in her posture before she sighs and relaxes again. Bluntly, she then says – "Fine then; I wish to speak to you on your performance on our last few missions and the incident with Bear especially."

Naruto crosses his arms and says – "What is there to talk about, the missions went fine and what happened to Tenzo was his own fault. He should not have got in my way."

Taking a step closer to him and glaring, Yugao then asks – "And what if I say that I think you wanted him out of the way? That you took him out on purpose?"

Naruto doesn't respond immediately due to the amusement he feels at her unsubtle accusation. Giving her a feral smile, he lets the amusement he feels be heard in his voice as he says – "Believe what you will Yugao."

Turning away from her, he starts to walk away before he feels a hand grab his shoulder and hears Yugao's voice say – "We are not done talking about this."

Allowing his killing intent begin to project a menacing aura, he glares at her with his eyes glowing gold and growls – "It would be wise of you to remove that hand from my shoulder before I do it for you."

Taking the threat with a deserved amount of seriousness, she removes her hand and steps back while saying – "This is not over."

Turning away again he walks off with a final statement of – "I believe it is. Now leave me; I do not wish to be disturbed."

_**Later that evening**_

Naruto currently stood in the steaming bathing area looking in the mirror, observing the changes in himself over the past two years. He was tall for 16 years old, standing at 5'11 with features that had hardened and grown more feral as he trained and became more in sync with the Kyuubi. His eyes, when not glowing gold, had darkened from their original sapphire into a hard, flinty blue with dark circles under them from hard training with little rest.

His spiky hair, now longer and shaggy-looking, was down to the back of his neck and his bangs just below his jaw. The blond color of it had also darkened to black. The whisker marks dusting his cheeks had also darkened into a more feral appearance. Next, opening his mouth he observes how some of his teeth had become sharper and more fanged, with only the rearmost teeth retaining their base human shape.

Casting his gaze along his body, he observes the hard, muscular appearance of it. Unlike most ninja, he exercised without chakra enhancement and while wearing weights. The results of this more difficult training left him with the body he now had. His muscles were not huge like a body builder's would be, but rather compact and solid, meant for use and not for show. His body was also scarred in several places and with good reason too; each one represents a failure. The Kyuubi would treat any wound he received in training or on a mission that was out of his control, but any time he screwed up the Kyuubi would let it scar to remind him of his failure and how the beast has no tolerance for it. So yes; in his opinion, he deserved each and every one. Turning his back to the mirror, he observes the newest one along his shoulder he received earlier that day. It had healed very quickly thanks to the regenerative properties of the Kyuubi's chakra, but still left a scar about four inches in length from the back of his shoulder angled diagonally toward his spine. Yet another reminder of his failure that he deserved.

Breaking out of his musings, Naruto finished washing his body and moved to the onsen to relax after his evening training. Settling in the steaming water, he lets out a sigh of relief as the heat penetrates and soothes the aches and pains and closes his eyes, stretching out along the smooth rock. A few minutes later he feels a presence arrive and the water jostle as Anko settles in with him. Modesty not being particularly relevant between them had long since drowned out any feelings from them seeing each other in the altogether.

Feeling her gaze on him, Naruto cracks open an eye to see Anko looking at him with a hesitant expression on her face. Knowing what this was likely about, he blandly asks – "Yugao sent you to talk to me again didn't she?"

Perhaps attempting to lighten the mood for the coming conversation, she shrugs with a fake smile and says – "That obvious huh."

It was a logical conclusion, seeing as his so-called captain had done the same thing before. This was because Anko was one of the few he still talked to on a semi-regular basis. Whereas anyone else would only be met with a cold silence and a glare, he would occasionally indulge her requests and even then only because of their shared pasts. His disposition towards the village and its inhabitants had not mellowed in the slightest and as a result had left him disinclined to tolerate the villagers and cater to their whims like a good subordinate.

He could not help but admire her cunning in approaching him now, when he was at his most relaxed state and thus slightly more inclined to listen to her. He could still dismiss her and refuse to have this conversation. He really was exhausted after his mission and daily training though and didn't feel like dodging her attempts to corner him for the next few days. With a deep sigh he straightens up and sarcastically asks – "What is the _good captain's_ problem with me now?"

Anko frowns and responds – "Oh the usual; not respecting her authority, your 'excessive' brutality, insubordinate behavior, etc."

Frowning, Naruto scoffs and says – "I save my respect for the people that can hurt me. Of which there are fewer and fewer every day in this village. I listen to her out in the field because she has more experience in such things than I, but I have long since surpassed her in combat. I am not so foolish to think she could not still beat me if she tried hard enough, as experience trumps strength every time, but soon even her experience will not be enough to save her. She is nothing more than a stepping stone along my path to power and when she has nothing left to teach me, I will discard her as useless."

Anko scowls deeply at this and says – "You know I don't appreciate you talking about my friends like that Gaki."

Naruto tenses, allowing a hint of gold to leak into his eyes and frostily asks – "And just what are going to do about it?"

The two hold the stare for a few seconds before Anko capitulates and looks away. The gold leaks from his eyes as he smirks and says – "That's what I thought."

Standing from the hot spring, Anko walks toward the sliding door before pausing and looking back, saying softly – "You've changed so much Naruto. I miss my little outoto."

As she walks off and shuts the door behind her, Naruto cannot help but stare at where she was and feel a surge of guilt rise in him. Feeling an angry surge of chakra from the fox, he winces in pain and ruthlessly crushes the feeling before the guilt can take hold of him.

'_Your little outoto is gone Anko, crushed like the weakling when he was betrayed by the one he called brother.'_

_**The next morning – Hokage Tower**_

Having received an urgent summons from the Hokage, Naruto ended his workout early and made his way to the tower wondering what was so important as to make him come into the heart of the village when most of the time he simply went to the ANBU headquarters. This is where we see him now as he walks through the tower with his hood shadowing his face, exuding an aura of menace and ignoring the tensing of everyone as he passed them on his way to the Hokage's office.

Arriving at the top he is waved in by a trembling secretary who says – "The Hokage is expecting you Uzumaki-san."

Not deigning to acknowledge the civilian, he move forward and raps his knuckles once on the door and he hears a curt – "Enter."

Walking through the door and giving a half bow after he enters the room, just enough to be proper, Naruto pulls down his hood says – "You called for me Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen keeps the melancholy thoughts that Naruto's presence inspire in him at bay as he moves to tell Naruto why he's called him.

"We have received a call for backup from one of our new genin teams, Team 7; led by Kakashi Hatake." – Hiruzen gravely states.

Being ANBU, Kakashi was a name that Naruto knew well; as tales of his strength and past missions as an ANBU Captain are near legendary. Feeling excitement at the thought of facing a powerful opponent rise in him, he lets none of it show however and asks – "What do we know of the situation?"

Going straight to business, the Hokage responds – "Approximately 20 minutes ago we received a request for backup along with a notice of retrieval from one of Kakashi's summons. Apparently the client, Tazuna of the Land of Waves, lied about the mission parameters causing it to be classified as only a C-Rank. According to Kakashi's report, this is because Wave has been stricken with poverty due to being taken over by a crime lord named Gato."

Taking a moment to inhale from his pipe, he breathes out the smoke and continues – "As you know, C-Rank missions are often given to experienced genin teams due to the fact there is little to no chance of combat with enemy ninja. Unfortunately, due to Tazuna's lie, Team 7 was unprepared when they encountered the Demon Brothers, Gozu and Meizu, formerly of Kirigakure. Kakashi was able to subdue the demon brothers with the help of his genin at which point he sent out the message as is standard procedure."

Naruto nods in understanding and crosses his arms while saying – "It stands to reason if this Gato learns that his first team of ninja failed, he will send someone stronger; likely of jonin level or higher."

Nodding, the Hokage says – "That is exactly right; which brings me to the point of why I called you here. There are likely to be more ninja and I cannot expect Kakashi to be able to fight them, all the while protecting his team and the client at the same time. The genin are in a vulnerable position and will be unable to reinforce Kakashi against a higher ranking ninja. At this point, they can be used as hostages just as easily as the client could. This brings us to where we are now."

Standing up from his desk he picks up a scroll and hands it to Naruto while saying – "As we don't know what the whole situation is, I am sending you in to scout the situation and if necessary, intervene to eliminate any threats. This is going to be a B-Rank mission at the minimum, possibly higher if events progress in a bad direction. I will send reinforcements if needed but I think you will be enough."

Surprised, Naruto asks – "You are sending me in alone?"

Hiruzen hardens his gaze and asks sternly – "Is there a reason why I should believe you will be unable to handle this _without _supervision?"

Feeling the weight of the Hokage's presence pressing on him, Naruto seethes internally at the power play and reluctantly bows his head in subservience, saying – "No Hokage-sama; no reason at all."

Letting his presence dissipate Hiruzen nods and orders – "Very well then; gather your gear and leave immediately."

Naruto nods and vanishes in a crow shunshin.

**Behold a new chapter after two years of silence. It's been a ridiculously long amount of time but like I said, this is just a thing I do when the urge strikes me. I have never forgotten the story and have had many ideas in the time since. But those are for big things far off into the story. The thing that kills my desire is knowing how much more I have to write to get to those points. Now though, I feel like trying again. Will I keep going or disappear again? I have no idea. We'll just have to see. **

**Let me know what you all think. If you have questions, I will answer likely answer them through PM so be sure to leave me a user name. This chapter is also unbeta'd. I will look it over again tomorrow but I have to go to work soon and I wanted to get this posted.**


	6. Confrontations in the Mist

**Part 1**

**Land of Waves Arc**

**Chapter 5 – Confrontations in the Mist**

_**Near the Border of Fire Country **_

It was upon his dismissal from the Hokage's office that he immediately returned to the tower to gather his gear in preparation for his mission, taking only seconds to do so as he always kept most of his gear on his person at all times. Having since left the village heading south for the border of Fire Country, he marvels at the weight that seems to leave his shoulders now that he is away from the village. Deciding not to dwell on it, he shifts his course, aiming to cross the small bit of ocean separating him from the small island known as Wave Country. It is while he is jumping swiftly through the trees that make up the forests throughout Fire Country that the voice of his tenant and master makes itself known.

"**I can sense your excitement boy. What makes this mission different from any of the others you have done for that wretched village of yours?"**

Naruto, being alone, does not bother to reply mentally as he says – "I feel this mission will provide me a way to test the limits of my ability. To have Hatake call for backup means he expects to face an opponent that might be beyond him. Knowing his reputation in the ANBU ranks, any opponent that can give him trouble is someone that I want to fight. It will be a worthy challenge to kill him."

The fox makes a considering 'hmmm' sound but does not respond further, allowing Naruto to return his focus to where he is going just in time to see the trees begin to thin out. Bursting through the trees into the open daylight he does not pause as the ocean comes into view and smoothly transitions to running across the water towards island he can see in the distance. Feeling his lust for battle beginning to stir, he puts on an extra burst of speed causing the water to spray out behind him.

* * *

_**The Land of Waves**_

It is a clear day shining down on the otherwise impoverished island nation. You can hear seagulls chirping and smell the salt in the air as the wind moves across the ever shifting waters of the sea. Towards the docks we see a group of five people making their way off a small boat. As they disembark they turn to the boat driver as he grimly says – "This is as far as I go. See you around."

The eldest of this group, an older man with tanned skin, gray hair, glasses and a stocky body that comes from a life of honest work and labor responds with – "Yeah. You've been a big help. Thank you for taking such a risk."

"Just be careful." - The boat driver says after nodding to the group as he turns the boat around to depart.

The older man, Tazuna, turns to the tallest of the group, Kakashi, and says – "Ok take me home. And by that I mean get me there in one piece."

Kakashi makes a placating gesture with his hand as he gives his signature eye smile and says – "Yes yes, don't worry Tazuna-san. My cute little genin and I will make sure you stay safe."

Said genin, consisting of a feral looking boy in a gray hooded sweatshirt with a dog on his head, a pale boy with dark eyes and a arrogant look about him and a skinny pink haired girl grumble at being referred to as 'cute' but otherwise ignore it. Leaving the docks, the group moves through the collection of run down residences and weary civilians onto a forest path leading to the outskirts of the seaside town where Tazuna lives.

* * *

_**With Kakashi**_

Keeping a wary eye on their surroundings, Kakashi considers all that has happened and comes to a conclusion with a weary look on his face.

'_When they next attack, it won't be Chunin, but elite level Jonin. Cripes!'_

Bringing himself back to the present he watches as Sasuke moves to take point position ahead of Kiba, much to the dog lover's visual irritation. Casting his gaze on Sakura, the only kunoichi of the group, he sighs in irritation as he sees her staring at Sasuke with eyes like sparkles.

'_They are all hopeless. What was I thinking when I thought they were ready for a C-Rank mission?'_

Suddenly, as he feels a very small spike of killing intent, Kiba runs ahead and sniffs the air then throws a kunai into a bush with a cry of "Over there!"

The white puppy jumps off his head and runs into the bush while barking. Kakashi tenses as he watches Kiba jump in after his ninken and return with a white rabbit. Waving the petrified rabbit around, Kiba calls out – "Hey look everyone I got us some dinner!"

Not relaxing in the slightest even as Tazuna begins yelling at Kiba while Sakura grabs and starts cuddling the rabbit, Kakashi thinks – _'That rabbit's fur is white, indicating that it was raised indoors. Combined with the killing intent, the only explanation that makes sense is a Kawarimi. So they're already here.'_

Sweeping a keen eye through their immediate surroundings he hears the sound of metal cutting the air and immediately yells out – "Everyone get down!"

To their credit, the genin immediately hit the dirt with Sasuke dragging Tazuna down with him before they look around just in time to see a massive sword cut through the air their bodies occupied not two seconds ago. The massive sword concludes its flight by planting itself horizontally into a tree, after which a tall figure appears in a burst of speed standing on the handle.

He can't help but feel a surge of apprehension as he identifies the figure standing on the sword. Tall and muscular, wearing blue pants, cowskin arm and leg warmers, no shirt, bandages wrapped around the lower half of his face, and a Kirigakure hitai-ate, Zabuza Momochi stares over his shoulder down at the group with a menacing look.

Adopting the lazy stance he's famous for, he walks forward toward Zabuza while saying – "Well, well. Zabuza Momochi, the one known as the Demon of the Mist. A missing-nin from Kirigakure and member of the infamous Seven Swordsmen; this certainly is a surprise."

Zabuza does not reply except to narrow his eyes at which point Kakashi realizes there is no avoiding the coming fight. Signaling his squad to stay back, Kakashi reaches for his headband and lifts it to reveal his famous sharingan. It is this action that prompts Zabuza to finally speak.

Turning around so he's facing the group Zabuza tilts his head back arrogantly and says – "Oh this is an honor. Pulling out the infamous sharingan already Kakashi?"

The reveal of his sharingan shock's his genin, especially Sasuke, but Kakashi puts it out of his mind for now as he prepares himself. Noticing the mist beginning to thicken, he hears Zabuza's voice say – "While I was a member of Kiri's ANBU, you were featured quite prominently in our bingo book. Yes, Kakashi of the Sharingan; the man who copied a thousand jutsu. I remember your entry well."

Crouching down on his sword, Zabuza begins projecting his killing intent on the group, badly shaking the genin. With menace apparent in his voice, he says – "Now, hand over the bridge builder. I've been asked to kill him and I hate to disappoint a paying client."

Zabuza does not wait for a reply, ending the conversation with his Hiding in Mist Technique and summoning a thick veil of mist from the nearby lake in order to hide himself.

'_Damn it. I can't see him anymore. This mist is laced with enough chakra to hide him from my Sharingan.' _– Kakashi notes to his chagrin.

While keeping his senses trained on his surroundings, he turns back to his team and calls out – "Team 7, Manji formation!"

Sasuke, Kiba and Sakura immediately form a three point guard around Tazuna with kunai at the ready. It is then Zabuza's voice is heard echoing from all around them.

"Eight points: larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian veins, kidneys, heart. Now then, which one will be my kill point?"

Knowing he needed to see, Kakashi flares his chakra to disperse the mist a short ways around him and his genin. Feeling them beginning to falter under Zabuza's killing intent, he sends out his own to counteract it while turning his head toward his team and saying – "Don't worry. I will not allow my comrades to die. I will protect you all with my life."

"I beg to differ, Kakashi" – Zabuza says as he charges and instantly appears in the center of his genin's formation with blade at the ready.

As he sees Zabuza about to attack, Kakashi races toward them and stabs Zabuza in the stomach with his kunai just before the stroke could fall. Water then pours out of Zabuza's body as it collapsed into a puddle and what seems to be the real Zabuza appears behind Kakashi.

Surprise crosses the faces of him and his team as Kakashi asks – "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu _(Water Clone Technique)_?"

Zabuza doesn't respond except to slice Kakashi in half, but Kakashi's body too dissolves into water, surprising Zabuza as he realized that Kakashi's sharingan must have copied the Mizu Bunshin as Zabuza previously charged toward him. Kakashi then appears behind Zabuza with a kunai to his neck and says – "It's over."

Zabuza, instead of looking worried instead begins to chuckle in a sinister manner while asking – "Are you so certain of that?"

To everyone's surprise, a second Zabuza appears behind Kakashi and grabs him, as the first Zabuza reverts to a pool of water. Knowing he is no match for him in melee combat, he attempts to break free of Zabuza's grasp, but is instead thrown into the nearby lake.

Sputtering as he comes up for air, he starts rising with difficulty and thinks – _'This water is too heavy to be natural. That means… Oh no!' _

Feeling the water form into an immobilizing sphere, he hears Zabuza say – "To think you would fall so easily into my Suiro no Jutsu _(Water Prison Technique)_, I'm almost disappointed."

He curses at himself, thinking – _'Fighting him on the water was a huge mistake!'_

As he sends chakra to form a pocket of air around his head in order to allow him to breathe, he watches as Zabuza creates more Mizu Bunshin to kill his team. Seeing the situation has taken a turn for the worst, he calls out to his team – "You three! Take Tazuna and run! This battle was lost the second I was caught! You must leave me here and run! Zabuza's clones cannot travel far from the original so you can get away! Now go!"

He sees the remaining four are paralyzed with fear at seeing him trapped and do not move. He notices with dread that the sheer gap in skill is becoming readily apparent for them and despite himself, he begins to lose hope. Zabuza notices the same thing and mocks him saying – "Such brave little genin you have there, Kakashi. Look at them; all but pissing themselves in fear. They probably haven't even been blooded yet."

Kakashi doesn't respond as he watches Zabuza's Mizu Bunshin move toward his team. It is then a distinct snap-hiss is heard in the mist somewhere beside Zabuza with a voice saying – "I wouldn't do that if I were you Zabuza."

* * *

_**With Naruto – A few minutes earlier**_

Standing unnoticed in the trees, Naruto watches the battle and feels nothing but contempt as his assumptions of Hatake's skill come crashing down due to his poor showing and rookie mistakes.

'_This is the great Kakashi Hatake, the former ANBU commander? He fights no better than some low level jonin, how very pathetic.'_

He hears his tenant respond to his musings with – _**"What did you expect boy? The man you heard about has long since weakened during the years since the Third War. That is what peace does to even the strongest of warriors."**_

Naruto shakes his head in disbelief of how someone so strong can allow himself to become so weak. Turning his gaze on the other presence watching the battle, he beholds a figure dressed as one of Kiri's hunter-nin and thinks – _'Just what is your purpose here I wonder."_

Tapping into the Kyuubi's negative emotions sensing, he turns his focus on the hunter-nin. What he feels as the battle progresses makes him smirk. As the two former ANBU fight he notices small surges of fear and anxiety every time Kakashi appears to almost get the better of Zabuza. It is from this that he quickly comes to a conclusion.

'_So Zabuza you have an accomplice; how very devious of you to disguise this one as a hunter-nin.'_

His ruminations are cut off as he notices Hatake become trapped and he snarls near silently at the blatant stupidity of fighting a master suiton wielder _on the damn water_. Shaking his head in disgust and knowing he must intervene, he starts coming up with a plan when his eyes fall on the fake hunter-nin and thinks – _'Perfect.'_

Vanishing silently from his perch he appears behind the disguised hunter-nin who immediately notices his presence, turning instantly and sending several senbon at astonishing speeds various vital points on his body. Swiftly dodging them, he vanishes in a burst of speed and appears behind the hunter-nin, smashing the hilt of his weapon on the back of the ninja's head as he does so resulting in instant unconsciousness. The swift engagement lasts no more than five seconds and does not attract the attention of the other fighters.

Bending down and removing the mask, a surge of _something _passes through him as he looks at the stunningly beautiful face of a young girl. Frowning slightly in confusion, he shakes it off as he picks up the girl to enact his plan.

* * *

_**Down by the Lake – Present Time**_

The group all turn toward the new presence to see Naruto with his eyes glowing gold in the shadows of his hood and red chakra blade active near the neck of the unconscious girl he is holding up by hair. His negative emotion sensing is still active so he easily can sense the surge of fear that rises in Zabuza at the sight of him with his accomplice despite the fact that not an ounce of it shows on his face.

With a feral smile seen in the shadows of the hood, Naruto says – "We wouldn't want something to happen to your little accomplice here would we?"

Zabuza narrows his eyes briefly before adopting a dismissive look and says – "I don't know what you're talking about Gaki, I work alone. That girl is probably one of the hunter-nin after my head. It means nothing to me if you kill her."

The girl stirs during the brief conversation and freezes as the situation catches up to her, keeping her face blank and focusing solely at Zabuza. He feels a flash of anguish rise in her when Zabuza says that final statement but a sense of sad resignation replaces it quickly as her gaze shifts to the churning water.

He admires Zabuza's determination to not show that he cares, but his emotions cannot lie. Marveling at Zabuza's foolishness, Naruto wonders how far Zabuza is willing to take his bluff. Bringing the blade close enough for the girl to receive proximity burns, he notices Zabuza tense unconsciously as he says – "Very well. If this girl means nothing to you, I will kill her."

Drawing his blade across her throat, he prepares to slice through the neck of the girl in what would be a killing stroke. The blade is millimeters away from slicing into her when Zabuza yells out – "WAIT STOP!"

He chuckles even as he holds the blade where it stopped and waits unconcerned while the girl begins to moan softly in pain from the heat of the blade being so close to her. Looking utterly furious, Zabuza grinds out – "What do you want?"

A satisfied Naruto tilts his head back and allows his face along with his Konoha hitai-ate to be seen as he replies – "I want you to release Hatake and leave. I will release the girl after you do so."

Zabuza snarls and asks – "What guarantee do I have that you will release her and not kill her?"

Naruto feels a surge of anger at the insinuation that he would kill her that puzzles him but decides again to reflect on his feelings later after the current situation is resolved. Pondering his answer, he turns his gaze on the giant cleaver that Zabuza is holding; at which point a memory of his past flashes across his mind.

* * *

_Flashback_

_A few days after beginning his training in kenjutsu, Yugao and Naruto were sitting together after a training session and talking._

"_Some kenjutsu users were swordsmen before they were ninja and because of this, they hold a code of honor about them. Even those that were ninja before they became swordsmen usually try to emulate them. Remember this; a swordsman, whether they are a shinobi or not, swearing on his honor is as good as swearing a shinobi swearing an oath on their hitai-ate."_

_Flashback End_

* * *

Naruto narrows his eyes as he considers this, knowing that this is one of the few initial lessons even he does not disregard lightly. Decision made, he states – "On my honor as a swordsman, I swear that I will release her to you unharmed should you do the same with Hatake."

Zabuza stares intently at Naruto, searching for any hint of deception. Naruto does not move while he does this, only staring Zabuza straight in the eyes. The self-proclaimed Demon of the Mist appears to find what he is looking for as he lets go of the water prison and allows Kakashi to go free. Said man regroups immediately with his team, but is ignored by both who continue to stare at each other unmoving.

Finally, Naruto nods and cuts off the flow of chakra to his blade, allowing it to fade with the usual hissing sound. He releases Haku's hair and sets her down gently onto the water after which he takes several steps back. The distance between Zabuza and Haku is instantly closed as he appears in front of her, blocking Naruto's view of her.

Naruto does not move as he stares up at Zabuza, showing no fear despite the fact that Zabuza is easily within striking distance. Gruffly, Zabuza asks – "What is your name boy?"

Curious, he replies – "Why do you wish to know?"

"So I can know the name of my opponent the next time we meet."

Naruto smirks as he replies – "Naruto Uzumaki."

Zabuza nods and steps back with Haku. Before the two disappear into the mist, Naruto hears Zabuza say – "The next time we meet Uzumaki, I am going to kill you."

Their presence fades from his senses immediately after and he thinks – _'You will try.'_

Turning toward the remaining Konoha ninja, he glares at the white haired jonin and says – "Kakashi Hatake, you and I need to have a talk."

Kakashi looks sheepish and moves to speak before he collapses face down, completely unconscious. Naruto snarls in disgust toward the man even as the pink-haired girl rushes to his side crying out – "Sensei!"

He passes his gaze on the remaining two, dismissing the first as just another Inuzuka before he pauses on the other boy. Instantly able to recognize the face of Itachi's little brother, he narrows his eyes in anger before dismissing him in order to take stock of the current situation. The two male genin and the old man who he assumes is Tazuna regard him warily as he approaches the downed jonin. He notices the puppy cowering in the Inuzuka's hood and Sasuke tremble slightly as his menacing aura presses down on them.

Kneeling down he turns his gaze on the crying girl who flinches badly while looking at him with open terror in her eyes and pins her with his burning gaze and orders – "Move away girl."

The girl scrambles back almost frantically, hiding behind her two teammates. Putting the pathetic reactions of Hatake's genin out of his mind, he flips the man over, pulls his headband down over the scarred eye and begins checking for his pulse. Finding a steady thrumming under his fingers he uses two fingers to open Kakashi's only unscarred eye, seeing it dull with the pupil dilated. Frowning slightly, he turns his senses to the man's chakra, noting with surprise how little he is able to feel from him.

Lip curling in disgust, he thinks to himself – _'Chakra exhaustion. Here I thought my opinion of you could sink no lower.'_

Finished with his diagnostics, he stands up while at the same time pulling his hood back off of his head, revealing his full features to the group for the first time. Breathing out, he pushes down on his anger, letting the adrenaline fade and the gold to bleed from his eyes.

Turning to the old man, Naruto says – "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, a jonin of Konoha. I was sent to backup Hatake's team after he sent out a call for reinforcements. Are you the bridge builder named Tazuna?"

The old man shakes himself out of his stupor and nods in confirmation but does not speak. Allowing a bit of his presence to press down on the old man, Naruto coldly says – "We will be having words on why it is unacceptable to lie on a mission request form, but that is for later. For now we must regroup. I assume you are able to lead us to your home correct?"

The old man puffs himself up indignantly but seems to consider his words before visibly deflating and saying – "Yes, I can. It's not too far from here. Just a few miles up the path."

Naruto nods at this and crosses his arms. Turning his gaze on the genin causing them to stiffen, he orders in a tone that brooks no disagreement – "Until Hatake wakes up I am now commander of this team. This means that you now answer to me and mark my words; I do not tolerate insubordination. You will do as I say, or there will be consequences. Now Inuzuka, Uchiha, you two carry Hatake. You girl, will stay by Tazuna. I will be taking the point guard position as none of you will be of any use in a fight if one breaks out. You will stay behind me and keep your guard up. Do you understand?"

The three have varying reactions to his words; the girl trembles with nervousness, the Inuzuka eyes him warily while petting his ninken and the Uchiha narrows his eyes in apparent anger. Nonetheless the three stiffen to attention and call out – "Hai sensei."

Nodding in satisfaction he starts walking and says – "Then let's move out. I want to reach the bridge builder's house before nightfall."

* * *

**Shorter than last time but I've had less time to work on it than I did the last chapter and I wanted to get it put out before I went to work tomorrow and forget about it. Once again, this is unbeta'd. I've gone over it a couple times though and I think I've caught most of the mistakes. I'll look it over with fresh eyes later. Let me know what you think.  
**


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